Love Story
by FaerieTales4ever
Summary: Regina is the adopted daughter of the Dark One. Emma is the heir to the Weissland throne. When the two meet at a Emma's coming out ball, sparks start flying. But Emma's parents are fearful and determined to keep them apart. Will True Love conquer all? #SwanQueen Co-authored with ooncer! Inspired by an awesome youtube video! Link on my profile! IN PROGRESS
1. Waiting For Life To Begin

**A/N: Hello my lovelies! So, this is not a completely new story, but rather an updated version of my SwanQueen fic Love Story, based on the Youtube video linked on my profile. Same basic plot line, and still SwanQueen and co-authored with my friend ooncer, but I was rereading it and I really wanted to elaborate on the characters and how they grow with each other. Hope you enjoy. **

**Disclaimer: Absolutely none of the characters, lines, or anything else recognized from OUAT is mine. This is not for profit, purely enjoyment. **

**1**

**Waiting For Life to Begin**

Regina stood on her balcony, the glow of the full moon as it glittered around her and lit up her thick raven locks no longer providing it's usual source of comfort. Instead, it bore down on her like a bright, blinding spotlight, making her shiver. She swallowed back the bitter taste of bile as her stomach twisted with gut-wrenching fear. She couldn't shake the feeling she was being watched. That somehow, someway, no matter how careful she'd been, Cora knew what she was hiding.

She clutched the forbidden object with such ferocity that her knuckles were a ghostly white. She tossed one last desperate glance over her shoulder, but the double doors to her bedchambers at King Leopold's castle still remained tightly fastened as ever.

She held her breath and peeled the leather bound book from her chest, gasping as the moonlight hit the blood red ruby heart encrusted in the center of the intricately woven cover. It bathed Regina's face in a devilish light, and she felt a dark presence envelop her, as if the book was a living being trying to tempt her. It called for her, urged her to relinquish her soul to the generations of evil within its pages. She let out a shaky breath and ran her finger along it's worn, cracked spine. Het hand traveled to the edge of the cover, inching it open with just the tiniest tip of her finger. She wanted to be brave, but jerked her hand back as if seared by the hottest of fires after exposing smallest sliver of parchment, terrified of the secrets that lay between the ancient lines of inscriptions.

What was she thinking? This was the very instrument that had taught her mother the Dark Arts of magic wielding. It had corrupted her. Stolen her heart and soul and twisted her into the vile, suffocating woman she was today, rather than the simple miller's daughter Regina's father had married so long ago. That girl was naught but a legend now, replaced by a black-hearted sorceress who cared for no one but herself. Did Regina dare travel down that same path?

No. In truth, she loathed the idea with ever fiber of her being. She had ever since the tiny seedlings of this desperate plan began to form in her mind the night her beloved was murdered in cold blood. Her mother's blood.

She did not want to grow to be anything akin to that woman, with a soul darker than the deepest depths of hell and unseeing eyes that burned with white-hot rage and a greedy lust for everything that would never be hers. No surmountable sum of power would ever quench Cora's thirst. She couldn't even find it within herself to love her own daughter.

The tattered object Regina held in her hand had been the arrow that pierced the heart of her mother's destruction and she found it disgustingly ironic how it now mocked her daughter as her only chance of freedom.

Several times, the soon-to-be-Queen had thought about throwing the contemptuous little talisman far away, knowing full well that if a book had changed her mother so profoundly, the man who gave it to her had to be the darkest imp in all of the realms. Summoning him was a death sentence.

But what other choice did she have? Her wedding to the king was tomorrow and if she didn't do something soon, she would be forever doomed to live her life as a porcelain doll, her only job to stand there and obey orders while suffocating under her mother's vengeful, oppressive hand.

She traced her trembling palm over the cover once more and carefully stretched it's spine. She didn't dare breathe as the journal extended its stiff wings, and shut her eyes so no sliver of light could enter her vision until she was certain it was safe.

The silence that descended upon the balcony was deafening, and Regina's heart stampeded in her ears, pounding in time with her the uneven rise and fall of her chest. Finally, she peeled her sable irises open and stared at the precarious inscription scrawled in rushed but elegant hand on the interior of her mother's book. The name was lengthy and unreadable, written in a language long forgotten by her people. Her brow furrowed and for a moment. she doubted her ability to summon such an ancient sorcerer. For if the language was dead, so then must be the wizard who wrote it be as well?

Still staring at the parchment, Regina licked her dry lips and tried to keep the precious text from tumbling out of her clammy palms as she wandered back inside her chambers. She wanted to delay her foolish scheme for as long as possible.

She turned toward her mirror and squared her shoulders, hoping to gather her courage. Just as her breathing returned to it's normal pace, she heard firm, deliberate footsteps clicking their way down her long corridor.

Cora.

Regina gripped the book tighter still. She had to act now, or forever lose her chance. Making her gaze focus even amidst her terror, she squinted at the faded inscription on the withering paper and attempted to summon her mother's mysterious teacher. "Rumplesh... Stilts... Rumplestiltskin, I summon thee." Her voice quivered with anxiety, but at least she'd done it. Now all that remained was finding out whether the price was worth it.

* * *

At first nothing happened. As her mother's heels echoed louder and louder against the wood floor, Regina began to fear she'd made the biggest mistake of her life, gambling her freedom on a text so old it looked as though it might deteriorate to dust in her hands.

"Regina? Are you in there?" her mother called.

Regina's throat was parched as the driest desert and she couldn't bring herself to form a response as hot tears pricked the edges of her eyes. How could she have been so stupid? To put her faith in an ancient fairytale? If Cora had told her once, she had told her a thousand times. Fairytales didn't existent.

"I can't believe I ever believed in you," she muttered, cursing her own nativity. "The Dark One isn't real. You're just some old nightmare conjured by a magician to scare his little ones into behaving."

"I may be a nightmare, dearie, but I am very much real and I scare much more than little children." A new voice quipped.

Regina nearly jumped out of her skin as she whirled to face… Well, she wasn't sure _what_ this creature was that had miraculously appeared beside her chaise lounge. At first glimpse, with reptilian skin and covered from head to toe in dark leather, it seemed to Regina to be some sort of animal. But as his impishly mysterious voice rang out around the bedroom, her curiosity grew. "R- Rumpleschtiltskin…?"

"Hello, pet," the imp smirked. "And that's not how you say it. But then... You didn't _have_ to say anything."

"Regina, what is going on in there?" Her dark eyes widened as Cora's shrill voice echoed through the halls, and the doorknob to her bedchambers slowly began to turn, surely sealing her doom.

"Just a minute, Mother!" She turned to the mysterious creature and gestured frantically toward her balcony. "Quick, you must hide. She cannot find you in here."

Rumpelstiltskin made no attempt to move. Instead he simply rolled his eyes and flicked a wrist listlessly at the door, his face revealing no emotion, almost seeming bored. The handle continued to turn and Regina began to shrink away, inching out onto the ledge herself, only stopping when she felt the sharp, cold stone of the railing bite into her tender bruises in the middle of her back. She bit her lip to keep from crying out and glared at the little man.

"What are you _doing?" _she hissed. "If she finds you in here, I'll be-"

The sorcerer clucked his tongue. "Oh dearie, dear, dear, such little faith you have in me."

"I don't have _time_ for faith you insolent Cretin," she spat. "Her knock is worse than death at my door." She was panicked now, her heart full with dread. She gazed this way and that, searching desperately for any possible way out, yet finding none. The imp appeared to have swallowed a lemon as he suppressed his laughter at her dramatics.

"Oh, and a mouth to match!" He feigned offense at her degrading nickname. "Didn't your mother ever teach you to respect your elders?" he queried with a mirthful glint in his eye.

Regina groaned. Both the high-pitched tone and thick, roguish accent made her blood boil beneath her skin. Maybe he really _was _as horrible as the tales warned. He certainly wasn't doing anything to help her. In fact, he rather seemed to enjoy her suffering. He had a superior air about him that made the brunette quake with rage. She wanted to strangle him then and there, despite her disadvantage in size and power. Now was not the time for clever quips.

_Why did I ever summon this… arrogant prick in the first place? _she fumed. He stalked her as a lion did his pray right before they tackled it and ripped out it's throat. His amber eyes glowed with hunger and a disturbingly girlish giggle peeled free from between his lips at her enraged expression.

"It's _not funny!_" the young girl protested, anguish and frustration finally succeeding in making her voice crack. Her vision began to blur, but she gritted her teeth and gulped back the hot burn of tears. She would _not _give him that satisfaction. As soon as she was rid of her mother, he would be banished back to the depths of the dark forests where he belonged. "Fix this, you imp," she growled. "Or I'll-"

Rumplestiltskin's face split into a snake-like smile and his gaze glittered with bemusement. "Ah, so the little princess has a backbone after all." He grinned and snapped his fingers. "Fine, I shall see what I can do. For a price."

"Why you-" Regina was about to lunge, but Cora's screeching cut off her protest.

"Regina Mills, open this-"

Her mother's raging voice ceased abruptly and Regina stood frozen in shock. She watched the doorknob, waiting for it to finish its rotation. Waiting for the screaming. The lashings and beatings that came every time her mother had a temper. Waiting for her fate as Cora's obedient puppet to be forever ingrained upon her soul.

But they never came. After several tense minutes of silence, Regina quirked an eyebrow at her visitor. "Mother?" she called hesitantly.

No response.

She swiveled to face the imp once more. "Is she… Is she gone?"

He giggled in that chilling air of his, spreading his hands and stepping back with an elaborate bow. "See for yourself, dearie."

With great hesitancy, Regina inched away from where she had pinned herself to the rough stone of her balcony railing, rubbing her now tender mid back and trying not to wince as she crept closer to the door. She gingerly put her ear to the cool wood, but heard nothing, not even the sound of Cora's usually agitated breathing. She reached to clasp the brass handle, only to draw her wrist back as soon as it collided with the cool metal, petrified of what she might find. An irritating titter bubbled up behind her.

"What's the matter, pet? Afraid?"

Regina gnashed her teeth and pressed her lips together in determination, fisting her hands at her sides. She refused to let Rumpelstiltskin get the better of her. Dark One or no, no one called her a coward. In one swift motion, she thrust her arm to the side and wretched open the door, letting the adrenaline coursing through her veins drown out the screaming fear in her gut. What she saw on the other side of the threshold however, made her jaw drop to the floor.

Cora Mills stood frozen in the hall, her face a permanent mask of pensive rage as she prepared to reprimand her daughter. Her hand poised in midair, grasping for the knob. Regina gaped at her mother's statuesque form. She reached out to tentatively touch her face, and when she made contact with her mother's cheek, she was astounded to find her skin still warm and still very much human, though she never moved from her pose.

"What did you do to her?" she gasped in awe. "Is she… dead?"

Rumplestiltskin's bellowing laugh ricocheted off of the stone walls. "Oh my, do you always assume this much?" He shook his head, greasy locks swinging. "No, Regina, she is still very much alive. I simply immobilized her while we discuss our wagers. She will return to her… pleasant," his lips curled upward and he winked at her as though they were sharing some inside joke, "self the moment I make my departure."

Regina recoiled at the sound of her name being mangled in the man's foreign tongue. "What are you?" she demanded, turning so she could look her strange visitor squarely in the eye. "How do you know my name?" All traces of anger and bitterness vanished from her gaze, now replaced by pure, if guarded, curiosity.

The imp arched an eyebrow and gasped, hand over his chest, pretending to be deeply offended. "What? What? _What_?" he mocked her, scanning her up and down like a predator surveying his prey. "My, my, what a rude question," he admonished. "I am not a what."

Regina flushed. She followed the man intently as he circled her, her defenses still at the ready. "Sorry," she apologized, fiddling absentmindedly with the golden pendant around her neck. "I don't really know what I'm doing."

"That much is clear," the curious man muttered under his breath as he drew himself up to his full height, preparing for the extravagant introduction. "Allow me to introduce myself," he began, spreading his arms wide and bending his knee in a mock bow. "Rrr Rumplestiltskin." He rolled the letter in an ostentatious fashion and Regina hid her laugh behind her hand. It was only now, after the initial direness of her predicament had subsided, that she noticed how each of his movements was flourished and precise. All at once, the small shred of fear still seeded within her dissipated completely. This man wouldn't hurt her, no matter what his reptilian appearance suggested. If he had the intent to harm her, surely he would not have stopped Cora's impending attack so they could "discuss their wagers." Right? At least, that was what she was going to let herself believe. Unless he showed her otherwise. Then he would know what the Mills women were _really _made of. For now, she let herself be swept up in his antics, proceeding to copy him as she bent down in an embellished courtesy.

"And I'm-"

"Regina," he supplied, stopping her. "I know."

The princess raised an eyebrow. "Yes, that's right, you do. How _do _you know my name?" Then her eyes wandered to the frozen Queen and she sighed. "Of course. It's because of my mother, Cora. You taught her?"

Rumplestiltskin giggled again. "My legend precedes me," he affirmed with another bow.

The princess groaned inwardly. So he _was_ as arrogant as she thought. Great. Just great. Aloud she simply said, "People say I look like her when she was younger."

"Really?" he queried. With narrowing eyes, the imp studied Regina's features. The arched brows, the long dark eyelashes, the slight curve of her nose and those pouting lips which were undeniably Cora's. "I don't see it," he responded with a distasteful expression and a shake of his head. "No, that's not how I know you."

"Oh?" she asked, surprised that someone actually acknowledged her as a person as opposed to a simple extension of her better known mother. "How then?"

The imp laughed in that high-pitched; nasally tone of his and his eyes glinted mischievously. Regina fought to suppress the urge to shiver under his watchful gaze. "I knew you long ago, dearie. It's been some time, but I knew this day would come. I've been waiting for it. And I'm so happy we're back where we belong."

"Where's that?" she asked, skeptical once more.

The little man inched closer to her and his scaly hand caressed her cheek before she could shrink away from the strange, textured feeling of his touch. "Together," he hissed and Regina couldn't tell if his tone was affectionate or possessive.

Subconsciously, the young girl gasped in horror and shifted away, creating a small gap between them as she cleared her throat. "You must be mistaken!" she rasped, shocked by his response, "We can't be destined to be _together…_ I... I don't even know you!"

Rumplestiltskin's chilled cackle trilled through her chambers and he tried unsuccessfully to hide an impossibly wide grin behind his hand. "My, my, dearie, presumptuous little thing, aren't you? I didn't say we were meant to be together like _that_." He scoffed. "I may be a monster Regina, but even I am not that vile. What ever gave you that ridiculous notion?"

Regina's cheeks flamed. "Well I...I mean, I just assumed. My mother always said…"

"Oh dearie, dear, dear." He shook his head and wagged a finger in front of her nose. "Never assume. Especially with ideas of affection from someone you know nothing about."

Regina stepped a slight bit closer to him, "Then...you _don't_ wish to…?"

The imp looked appalled at the very mention of such a thought. "Dearie, I am _centuries_ older than you. And as pretty as you are, you are but a wee lass to me."

"I'm nineteen," she protested, though she was unsure why she felt the need to do so. "I'm no longer a child, Mr. Stiltskin." Still the imp clucked his tongue and patted her head as though she were a small dog.

"Everyone is a child when you've been around as long as I, Regina."

"Oh? And how long have you…" She trailed off, but was only further confused by his answer. In spite of his unusual skin, he couldn't be more than forty or fifty years of age. Young, by her mother's standards.

"It's not polite to ask a sorcerer's age, pet. I would think you'd know that, being a royal."

Again, the princess felt her cheeks redden. She really hadn't been speaking with her brain today. The near confrontation with her mother must have ratted her nerves more than she'd thought. "Oh… I apologize, sir, I didn't mean…"

Another flamboyant giggle bubbled forth from his lips. "Worry not, I'm not one to be easily offended. And please, call me Rumple."

"Oh," Regina's shoulders sagged. "I'm glad. Still, allow me to apologize. My mother is always scolding me for letting myself speak from my heart rather than my brain."

"No harm done, dearie. My son has said far worse." He chuckled at the memory.

Regina's eyes widened. "You have a son?"

Rumple nodded. "I am more than I appear. You will learn that too, in time. For now, I want you to know I am not here to torture you, but to help you."

"Help me?" she repeated. "You… You knew I was going to summon you?"

"It is not often I can predict a summons before it happens. My Sight shows me much, but not that. To know when every mortal was ever going to call upon my services..." He shook his head as though the thought was utterly preposterous. "Life is too unpredictable, even for the strongest of magic, Dark or Light." He offered another secret wink. "Except… in some _special _cases.

"And how am I a… special case?'

"I knew your mother, as you know. I granted her wish when she asked for power, though I had my own selfish agenda laden in her desires as well." His eyes took on a far away air and Regina was curious as to the history he had with her mother. The look on his face gave her the idea it wasn't a pleasant story. "Nonetheless," he finally continued. "I've been watching her since then, and now it is time to correct my mistake."

"Y- Your mistake?" she asked, confused.

The sorcerer nodded solemnly. "When I taught her magic, I gave her a choice…" he continued. "Had I known then, what I know now… I never would have taken that path, had I known its price."

"It's price?" She wanted to know more about this ancient man's dealings with her mother and how she became the person she was, but sensed now was not the time to ask.

"Aye, dearie. All magic comes with a price. But in Cora's case, I'm afraid you paid the debt for her misdeeds.

Regina bit her lip and shivered as the memory of Daniel's brutal death in her once cherished stables seared the forefront of her mind. "So… So you know… What she did? How she… murdered my love because of that wretched little—" Her temper was rising now, and the imp laid a gentle hand on her shoulder to calm her.

Rumple shook his head sadly. "Indeed I do, my dear. And, as dark as I may be, that is also a line I would never cross."

"So… you'll teach me?" she queried with an air of caution, as though she was unsure what she wanted his response to be.

The imp bowed from the waist once more and with a flurry of his hand, replied, "I will do what I did for your mother, and offer you a choice."

"A choice?" she asked, her brows furrowing, "Of what nature?"

"I can teach you the Dark Arts, if that is truly what you wish. You can be rid of your mother and have your revenge on that sweet, innocent princess you believe yourself to loathe…" Regina's eyes glowed at the thought. "But I must warn you," Rumple continued. "The price for your vengeance will be a long road of hatred and heartache." He cast a sorrowful glance at the frozen miller's daughter. "I have seen it before."

"Or…?" she asked, knowing of his gift of sight and not liking how that sounded. Yes, she wanted revenge against Leopold's precious Red Rose for divulging her secret, but was it worth a life of misery? She pondered that thought and nibbled her reddening bottom lip as he went on.

"Or…I can offer you a home with me. A chance to start over and have a new life as my apprentice and chatelaine in the Dark Castle."

Regina narrowed her eyes. The offer sounded too good to be true. A new life… For a fleeting moment, a life without Cora flashed before her eyes. A life of her own. A life of freedom. A life of, she hoped, love. Excitement danced along her spine, but she wouldn't allow herself to completely let down her defenses just yet. The opportunity he was offering certainly sounded reminiscent of magic to her. Hadn't he just said that all magic must come with a price? What if both prices were too high for her to pay? This deal was her last hope. What would she do if it didn't work? She would be doomed to live as a hollow shell of her former self, constantly quenching her anger, which increased exponentially each day she was within the presence of Leopold's oh-so-naive little princess. She knew in her heart that Red Rose was innocent. Her mother was a master manipulator and the girl most likely hadn't a clue what she was doing when she'd revealed Regina's secret and attempted to stop the wedding to Leopold so they could both find true love. But she was also the only person besides her father that Regina had ever completely trusted. And, intentional or not, that trust had cost her stable boy his life. She narrowed her sable eyes and studied the imp carefully.

"And what price would that cost?"

Rumplestiltskin smiled, seeming to sense her inner conflict. "You would simply have to care for my estate. Keep the castle clean, and be a caretaker and playmate to my young son Baelfire. In return I shall give you freedom to do as you wish, and train you in Light Magic."

"_You_ know Light Magic?"

"Among other things." Rumple smiled. "But I shall only explain if you take my deal." With that, a glittering gold contract and bright red-feathered quill appeared in his hands. He offered them to the princess, "What do you say?"

Regina took a wordless moment to consider this offer. Of course she wanted to learn magic for one reason and one alone: to give that sickening little princess her comeuppance. And yet… Would that matter at all if she ended up a slave to a darkened and empty heart? Wouldn't it be better to leave this wretched castle and her twisted mother behind and start fresh with a mentor who could teach her something good? He was offering her a second chance; she just had to take it. A smile slowly crept on her face and she knew what her answer was going to be. She cleared her throat and uttered one quiet syllable. "Yes."

Rumplestiltskin's left eyebrow raised and he tilted his head to one side. "Yes? Yes to what, dearie?"

"Yes, I'll… I'll come with you." She breathed a sigh of relief and hoped this decision would turn out to be the right one.

A broad, twinkling grin adorned the imp's face and Regina was surprised to see he looked almost friendly. Recalling the stories she had heard, mostly from her mother, she realized that perhaps this man wasn't as fearsome as people had led her to believe.

"Well then, my dear," he summoned her trunks and undid the latches. "You'd better pack up your things. We have a long journey ahead of us." Regina didn't notice the playful gleam in his eyes that indicated the journey wouldn't be nearly as long as she expected.

After the young brunette had filled a trunk with more dresses than even Rumpelstiltskin had ever seen, she closed it and flipped the catch. Her room was now bare. The dresser had been cleared of all her jewelry and various trinkets, her closet was empty, and the pictures had been taken out of their frames and rolled up to fit in the last of Regina's three trunks. All that was left of her queenly chambers was the plush furniture. Regina looked around one last time before she picked up the two lighter chests, attempting to push the last one with only the force of her body.

"Is...the carriage...far?" she panted, sweat beading her forehead as she shoved her body weight into the trunk, glaring at her new guardian when he simply laughed at her predicament.

"Dearie, I know for a fact that you're stronger than you look; but isn't that a bit of a load; even for you?"

"You could help you know!" she snapped, "Do you expect me to get all of this out of the castle myself?"

"Oh, there's no need for dramatics dearie. We won't be needing to move anything outside."

"Wh- Wha-" Regina huffed. But before she could say another word, Rumple snapped his fingers and purple smoke engulfed them and sent Regina's stomach churning violently.


	2. Telling Tales and Griffin Greetings

**A/N: Enjoy Chap two lovelies. Next time… a visit from a very special guest, a character my wonderful friend Charlotte Ashmore has graciously allowed me to borrow. Any guesses?**

**Disclaimer: Nope, nada, none. Nothing is mine. Nothing is for profit. **

**2**

**Telling Tales and Griffin Greetings **

Regina coughed and sputtered as the mist expelled itself from her lungs. She stumbled forward, dry heaving while the room spun around her. "What the he-" But she didn't have the energy to finish her sentence. The vile taste of acid crept up her throat and before she could completely come to her senses, she keeled over onto her knees and began retching on the polished hardwood. A metal bucket appeared in front of her just in time.

"Not on the oak dearie, I just buffed it," her new mentor chided.

Regina glowered at him. "You...ack...couldn't have...given me… ack ...a warning? I probably didn't even have to pack!" she rasped as she slowly began to recover from her bout of nausea.

Rumpelstiltskin just giggled. "It was far too much fun watching a princess do manual labor."

"You imp!" Regina huffed, still on her knees in front of the pale. "If I wasn't so ill right now I'd-"

The sorcerer cut her off with a disapproving flick of his tongue. "Tisk, tisk, dearie. We will have quite a lot of work to do on that attitude of yours before you meet my son come morning. Wouldn't want him hearing you degrade his old Papa now, would we?"

The former princess didn't even have time to return an insult before the contents of her stomach made a reappearance. "Oooh! Damn it, what did that transportation spell _do _to me?"

The Dark One shrugged. "You said you wanted out of there, dearie, you never said how. If you were prone to motion sickness, you should have mentioned that before."

"I'm _not_, you muttonhead. At least not any _normal _form of motion." She finished under her breath. "And even if I was, _what _in our previous conversation would have made me think to bring it up, hmm?"

"Normal?" The imp sniggered. "Oh no, you won't find anything _normal_ around here, Regina. I would've thought you knew that when you signed up for this little... escape plan."

"That blasted contract said nothing about transportation via magic roller coaster," she spat. "A little warning next time? Or would that be too courteous for such a… flamboyant creature as yourself?"

The older man didn't respond and Regina simply scoffed. "You know, I bet you didn't even bring me here for the reasons you said, did you? I bet that whole speech in my bedchambers about mending your mistake was all an act, wasn't it?"

Still, Rumple said nothing, simply snapping his fingers so the metal pail vanished from its spot and avoiding her gaze as he helped her to her feet.

"Go on, _Dark One,_" she taunted. "What scheme do you have planned for me? Why do you _really _need me here? Are you going to try and lock me up and barter with my mother for my freedom? Because I can assure you," Regina swallowed around the growing lump in her throat and prayed he wouldn't notice how her lip trembled as she realized her mother would most likely not even care she was gone. "She won't pay it."

Before the final word escaped her lips, Regina thought she saw a flicker of pain dance across his amber orbs. It was only for an instant, but it was there. The first sign that he wasn't only a manipulative, power-hungry tyrant. It hadn't occurred to her before this moment that there must be a man living behind the green mask.

"You forget so quickly, dearie." He sighed. "I did not bring you here against your will. _You_ signed my contract, and now you must keep your deal."

Quick as a blink, his walls had clicked back in place. It was such a fast transition, Regina found herself wondering if she'd imagined the change. The smallest seed of guilt planted itself in her stomach, but she refused to apologize. Not yet. Not until she knew for certain that the life she'd just submitted herself to, a life indebted to the Dark One himself, _would _in fact be an improvement over spending an eternity as her mother's daughter.

Seeing that his new charge wasn't going to speak again anytime soon, the sorcerer cleared his throat and said, "I'll show you to your chambers now."

"What?" Regina asked, not sure if she'd heard correctly. Of all the things this mysterious sorcerer could make her do now that she was his willing ward, she never expected to receive a chamber of her own.

Without further warning, Rumple turned on his heel and began trotting off up the steep stone staircase to the right of where Regina stood. Her eyes followed his shrinking figure until her curiosity could bear it no longer, and she set off at a run in order to catch up with him.

After several long, winding hallways and more stairs than Regina cared to count, her new guardian came to a stop at the entrance of the upper East Wing of the castle.

Regina gawked at the walkway before her. She was used to the never-ending corridors from her own castle, but this was different. Instead of knights clad in silver armor and holding their swords unsheathed across their chests and ready to protect their masters from danger, fearsome painted stone griffins lined the pathway. They sat with their feathery chests puffed out and pointed beaks tilted upward toward the ceiling. It was their eyes that unnerved the former royal. They trained unblinkingly on the newcomers, and Regina shivered with the feeling that they were following her. Their talons also did nothing to ease her fears. Each one was perfectly trimmed to a fine, vicious point, as if they had been carved with the sharpest knives in the palace and their feet rested with their ankles just off the pedestal. They looked poised to strike at any moment, and Regina swore she saw the first one twitch as they passed. She gulped and skillfully avoided eye contact with the rest of them.

And then there were the tapestries. Every few feet, a new decoration lined the wall, each one sewn more expertly than the last. One in particular caught her eye, of a carefree woman and a man whom she could only assume to be young Rumpelstiltskin, riding together on the back of a majestic white horse.

Regina wandered closer and ran her hands along the tightly twined knots of fabric. Suddenly, she felt the tapestry move beneath her fingers. She sucked in a breath and blinked rapidly before looking back at the picture.

_No. That can't be. _But her eyes hadn't fooled her, it was indeed moving. The horse's mane billowed in the wind, and the leaves on the trees swayed. The animal's hooves drummed in place against the path, kicking up dust. The woman's eyes sparkled as she threw her head back and laughed, leaning into the younger mage. Regina gasped, her hands shaking. The woman looked almost like….Her mother, but…happy.

"R-Rumpelstiltskin?" she stuttered, trying to make sense of what was right in front of her.

"Something wrong?" he asked, noticing the fearful edge to her voice. He gave a surreptitious flick of the wrist and, in an instant, the content of the tapestry had transformed. Where before there had been the noble steed, there now lay a tranquil oceanfront landscape with calm rolling waves and a sailboat in the distance under a crystal blue sky.

Pointing with a trembling finger, she asked, "D- Did you see what I saw?"

The sorcerer's lips curled into a crooked smile as he contemplated how to evade her question. "The tapestries? Yes, dearie. I may be old, but contrary to popular belief, Regina, I am not blind."

The princess huffed and crossed her arms. "You know that's not what I mean, imp."

He creased his brow in mock misunderstanding and pretended to study the artwork. "Ah, yes. The colors are magnificent aren't they? Bring a little warmth to the place." Seeing Regina's scowl deepen, he grinned, knowing he'd saved the most interesting morsel until last. He breathed mystically, "They're _enchanted_."

Regina's eyes widened. "Really?"

Her mentor snorted back a laugh. "But of course! I have no use for royal servants bumbling about in my castle. Besides, they make much better entertainment this way." His eyes sparkled as he watched the young girl squirm with unease.

"So those are… They're people? Real people?" she stammered, taking a step back from the woven masterpiece.

"Were," he corrected. "This just keeps them… quieter."

Regina didn't know how to respond to this, and so could only stare in gaping silence at each work of art as they ambled along, wondering who they might have been.

* * *

He continued along the passage and through several wide archways, with Regina desperate to keep up. She stopped to catch her breath and reached out to steady herself against a colossal griffin.

"Wait!" She panted. "Can we-" But before she could finish her request, she sprang backwards as the statue's granite feathers began to scrape together beneath her fingertips. Its hind legs quivered, ready to pounce. The hairs on the back of Regina's neck stood up on end as her eyes met those of the mammoth beast before her. It's golden wings spanned three feet on either side, and as it shook out an eon of dust from it's feathers, Regina felt herself frozen with terror. The monstrous creature slowly began to creep forward with all the stealth and precision of a jungle cat hunting it's dinner. The sleek, cold stone of the Onyx wall bit into Regina's back as she inched away. Her nails dug into the smooth brick and she fought to keep her grip on reality as she braced herself for the pain she was sure was about to come.

Head twitching from side to side, the Griffin eyed its prey and thumped its enormous tail against the stone floor of the hallway. It launched itself from the podium on which it rested, but stopped with its beak less than a foot away from the terrified young woman's nose. It bent down with it's front talons stretched just in front of his head. It's emerald eyes lit with excitement as it's backside swayed in the air and it's tail continued to wag.

When the pain did not arrive, Regina, who had squeezed her eyes tightly shut and sealed herself for her impending doom, dared to release the breath she'd been holding in. As the thumping heartbeat in her ears subsided, another sound filled them. It was loud and low, like a vibration. She inched open one eye and was rewarded with a painful nudge in the arm by the Griffin, whose exquisitely painted jet-black eyes glinted mischievously. It nudged again, wanting a reaction from the new houseguest, and filling her ears with a louder vibration.

"Wait…" She frowned, as the meaning of the noise finally resonated. "You're… purring!" The enormous creature bounded around the corridor, swinging it's stone tail dangerously near Regina every time it flew past.

* * *

"Regina?" Rumpelstiltskin called from a little ways down the hall.

"Over here!" He heard her soft voice echo three your corridors back. The mage rolled his eyes and hurriedly doubled back. _Where did that girl run off to?' _he groaned.

When he entered the hall and caught sight of the playful Griffin, he groaned. "Look what you've done," he chided, although the corners of his mouth were raised slightly. "She'll never go back now." Despite his protests, the old mage reached down and patted the creature's head right between it's pointed ears when it rubbed against his leg in want for attention. The purring grew louder and Regina suppressed a bemused laugh upon watching the Dark One behave so affectionately with this enormous former statute. Tentatively, she inched closer and leaned forward to stroke it's golden wing with the tip of her fingers, which was surprisingly soft now that she had been reanimated.

"So… it's… they're… she's friendly?" she queried, just wanting to be sure.

"Of course," he replied nonchalantly, "She's a Griffin."

"And… that's supposed to reassure me?" Regina slowly drew her hand back from the now docile creature, apprehension slowly but surely coursing through her veins as she recalled the fearsome legends about these half-ling animals she'd heard as a child. "Didn't Griffins use to tear apart any human who wandered too close to their nests?" Her mentor stifled a chuckle at her stricken face.

"Only when they feel threatened. Arias wouldn't hurt a fly."

"Arias?" Regina took yet another step back.

"Yes, dearie. Ares was the-"

"The god of war in ancient times, yes. Which brings me back to… Why should any of this information reassure me that she will _not _suddenly turn around and bite my head off?"

Rumpelstiltskin's lips twitched up into the smallest of impressed smiles and he quirked a brow at his new apprentice.

"What?" she asked. His eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief, and when Regina understood what had surprised him, she snorted in contempt. "Contrary to your past perception of me, Rumpelstiltskin, I _am _quite intelligent."

"Oh, I never doubted it dearie," he replied smoothly. "You _did _summon me after all."

Regina resisted the urge to roll her eyes. _And I'm beginning to wonder if I'll regret it. _His arrogance was really starting to rub her the wrong way.

"As for how you can be _certain _he won't hurt you well, I am her mate."

"Her… mate?" Regina repeated, thoroughly confused and the slightest bit disgusted by that thought.

The sorcerer nodded. "You are correct when you say Griffins were not always gentle creatures. But Arias… she's her own breed if you will."

"Oh?"

"I found her a few hundred years ago, when Bae was only a young tike."

Regina cocked her head upon hearing those numbers. The Dark One was immortal, but she'd never heard of that power being extended to his family before. Then again, most Dark Ones were not known to _have _families.

"I was on a deal in what is now Midas's kingdom, Cebola, near the east corner of the forest," Rumpelstiltskin continued. "Baelfire was no more than five winters of age at the time and I had yet to find another governess for him after he chased away the last one, a stern general's daughter by the name of Marilee." Her guardian grinned mischievously at the memory. "It was quite funny actually, watching her run from here as though Lucifer himself were on her heels."

_Oh great, _Regina thought. She didn't like the sound of her new charge having the capability to cause enough mischief to chase away a general's daughter. "What did he do?"

"He dumped a jar of beetles in her bed." Rumple said, like that kind of thing was perfectly normal and happened around here every day. But then, perhaps it did. Regina felt slightly green upon considering such a thing and quickly shook idea away. "He even used an engorgement charm to make it worse." He laughed. "Those things were big as hamsters by the time I caught him with that blasted training wand. Took a week to coax them out of the castle. Bae, little minx that he is, insisted that it was cruel to kill something so harmless once I returned them to their normal size. Poor Marilee flew down the stairs and out the door as if she had wings on her feet."

"_What_?!" Regina shrieked. She _hated _bugs of any kind, and the thought that she might wake up with a bed full of gargantuan beetles made her dinner creep back up her throat. She swallowed thickly and gaped at her new mentor, utterly horrified.

The old sorcerer couldn't hold back his chuckle when he caught sight of her disgusted face. "No need to be alarmed, Regina. I gave Bae such a whooping after that little incident and threatened to confiscate his training wand if he ever did it again."

"Uh huh…" Regina muttered, still not convinced.

Rumple grinned. "Trust me, dearie, he hasn't pranked a governess in _years. _I'm sure that hasn't changed since he returned from that infernal island."

"Infernal island?" Regina asked. "What do you-"

"Another story for another time, pet." He cut her off quickly, realizing a split second too late where the conversation had almost veered. "As I was saying," he gestured once more to the Griffin standing obediently at his side. "I took Bae with me to talk to the king, I wasn't going to leave the lad alone at such a tender age, and on the way back home, we caught wind of some unusual happenings in the grove just outside of the kingdom borders."

Regina nodded along obediently. She really wanted to know what he had been so close to revealing a few minutes ago, but his rambling and swift topic change made it clear that it wasn't open for discussion.

"Those woods are prime real estate to all different kinds of celestial beings, seeing as so many of them are attracted by gold and that selfish oaf of a ruler and his kin can practically make those precious nuggets appear out of thin air."

"You don't like him?" Regina guessed, judging by the sour note that laced his voice when he spoke of the legendary king.

"He's no better than a slimy slug if you ask me," Rumple informed her. "Tries to cheat everyone he meets. At least when _I _strike a deal, I make sure my client is clear on it's price."

"How has his bloodline lasted so long as the ruling family if he's swindled as many as you say?"

Rumple sighed and ran a hand through his hair._ This girl is worse than Bae!_ "A lot of people in his kingdom have deep, hidden secrets, Regina, and they will pay handsomely to see that they stay that way."

Regina's lips formed a small oh of understanding. "So, he's a dictator?"

"In a word," the sorcerer mused. "Might I continue with my story now?"

The former princess blushed and pressed her lips together. "Yes sir," she whispered. She let her gaze drift to the floor and folded her hands in front of her. Her shoulders sagged the slightest bit, as if some of the air had been let out of her. She followed him down the hall a few more paces, barely making a sound. Her mentor exhaled loudly and ran a hand through his tousled locks. How was it that his new caregiver could go from zero to sixty in such a short time?

"Regina, dearie, I told you there's no need for such formalities here. You can call my by my name if you wish."

"Yes, Mr. Stiltskin," she muttered, still not looking at him.

The old mage sighed again. Apparently he wouldn't get much more than that tonight. Not that he'd expected her to take to him right away. He _was _a monster after all.

Instead, he forged ahead and carried on with his story, no longer sure if he cared whether she was listening, or if he just wanted to fill the uncomfortable silence that had descended between them.

"Anyway, Bae insisted we investigate the odd noise he was hearing. 'Something between a roar and a screech' he said. I was powerless to the pleading of those large brown eyes, and so into the forest we lumbered. I refused to use magic to transport us, since Bae was so young, but after a very long hike, we came upon the tallest sycamore either Bae or I had ever seen. Five horses were tied to it's massive base, and when we looked up, their riders were nimbly scaling the tree, trying to reach Arias' nest, presumably to dismantle it and use the gold with which it was built for-" He shook his head. "Hecate only knows what they planned to do with it."

"Where was Arias?" Regina asked quietly. The smallest of smiles graced the Dark One's lips at her question, glad that she wasn't going to maintain her silent treatment for the remainder of the night.

"Oh, she was up there. Screeching like a banshee, she was. Blasted animal almost split my eardrums with that voice of hers. Not that I blame her, trying to protect her babies from those… leeches.

The young girl's dark eyes widened. "She had babies?"

Rumple nodded. "Indeed, dearie. Five hatchlings from the look of her eggs."

"So…" Regina glanced back uneasily at the other statues. "The others…? Are they…?"

Rumple gasped. "Absolutely not! The others are merely as you see them and I care for the babies in my aviary. Griffins only hatch every five hundred years. In fact, Arias' should be due to hatch soon."

Her chocolate eyes took on a new light. "You have an aviary?" she asked, and the sorcerer marveled at how much her face resembled Bae's constant, childlike exuberance in that moment.

"Yes, pet, and I shall give you the full tour tomorrow if you wish it, provided you complete all you're duties, which we will discuss with Bae in the morning."

"Oh, I would, Rumple!" she enthused; probably not even realizing she'd let the nickname slip in her excitement. "I mean…" she flushed. I would enjoy that very much."

"Very well." He smiled. "For now, let us continue to your chambers and I shall finish my tale. You see, I only un-animated Arias because she was bound and determined to protect me at every turn after I rescued her and her babies from those buffoons. I magicked them right out of that tree back onto their horses and sent the beasts galloping back the way they came. Arias came down once she sensed my magic- her wing was damaged from her struggle with the thieves- and Bae insisted we bring them all back to the Dark Castle. Once she was healed, she attempted to fly after me every time I ventured outside of the castle. As hard as it may be to believe, what with my obvious charm and good looks," the mage winked and a small giggle erupted past Regina's lips, "getting the average mortal to strike a wager with me is not simplest task. Having a growling, hissing Griffin threaten to pounce them if they got too close to me was doing wonders to destroy my reputation, and this was the only way she would stay here." He gestured to the now empty pedestal before bending down to scratch the animal once more. Arias nuzzled his hand in content. "Though now that you've reawakened her, she will slowly return to full animal and the problem will present itself once more." Rumpelstiltskin's lips curled upward in spite of his serious tone. He would never admit it, aloud but he'd actually missed his furry mischief-maker. It was good to see her out and prowling once more.

"I'm sorry… sir." Regina said awkwardly.

"No matter." Rumple waved a dismissive hand. "Though I must say, I am surprised. She doesn't usually take kindly to those not magic-born. Perhaps her waking is a sign you are coming into your own powers."

Regina gawked at him and stumbled back as though she'd been stung. The color drained from her already pale complexion and she struggled to keep her breathing even. "But… But I'm not… I don't have any magic! You haven't taught me anything!" she protested, glancing down at her hands as if she expected them to suddenly erupt with that blasted substance.

"Not yet, dearie, but perhaps soon. You are Cora's offspring after all, and she was my most… powerful student in centuries. Perhaps you are stronger than you know."

Regina gulped and held her stomach as it revolted against that notion. "I think… I think this night has left me rather exhausted, Mr. Stiltskin. May I retire now?"

Rumple frowned at her sudden formal speech, and too late he realized his prediction had rattled her more than he'd expected, though he didn't have a clue as to why. "Of course." He came to an abrupt stop in front of an ornate royal purple door at the left end of the hall. "Here we are." He took a step back and allowed his new charge to come forward. As she grabbed for the door handle, he cleared his throat and said hesitantly. "I hope… I hope you sleep well, pet. And I hope… in time, you will come to like it here."

Regina spun on her heel to face her mentor, slightly surprised by the sincere, albit awkward, gesture. "Th- Thank you," she stuttered upon regaining her composure. "And you as well."

Regina cautiously turned the knob on her door and stepped inside; taking in her new surroundings. The room was smaller than her old one, but she liked it that way; it felt...cozy somehow. A bed with a quilted headboard and footboard and was cloaked in sheets of royal purple was pressed along the back wall. A full-length mirror stood next to a wardrobe along the wall to the right opposite of the bed, and a dresser sat against the left wall. A large window looked out over the extensive gardens.

* * *

Regina opened the trunk at the foot of her bed and pulled on her nightgown. She tiptoed to the side of her bed and threw back the covers, a sense of dread creeping in on her upon remembering what Rumple said about Bae and his infatuation with unusually sized beetles. To her relief, no such horrors greeted her when she drew back the quilt, and she snuggled contentedly under the plush orchid duvet.

Magic… The word reverberated in her brain like the haunting chant of a ghost that would never rest even as she attempted to quiet her mind for the night. _Ma-gic. Mag-ic. Ma-gic. _

Regina knew from her mother's lessons that there were two kinds of magic users in this world, the magic-born and the magic-taught. Magic-born were stronger, of course. Their power had manifested for generations. It had been honed and crafted and tapped into the wielder's very soul. Her mother had been born with magic, but she never in a million lifetimes expected Rumpelstiltskin to proclaim _she _inherited the curse as well. Didn't those things usually skip a generation or two? She shook her head. Rumpelstiltskin was the Dark One. The only one who knew more about magic than him was the Sorcerer himself, the original and most ancient of magic wielders in the entire realm. If what her new mentor said was true, did that mean she was doomed to be like Cora no matter how hard she fought against it? Could she _never _use her powers for good? Would the pull of the darkness forever remain too strong to ignore once her powers took their full form?

It was simply too much to process. Finally, Regina banished the contradicting voices fighting for control and collapsed against the pillows. Just as her eyes begin to flutter closed, a mysterious voice echoed over the walls.

"Well, ladybug, you certainly took your sweet time getting here. Life in the castle has been quite dull as of late."


	3. Imaginary Friends

**A/N: Thank you to Charlotte Ashmore for letting me use Winter from her Love Letters verse! Also, there is a chunk of Winter's dialogue that will look familiar to her LL fans. Yes, it is from there, no I did not take it without her permission. PM her if you don't believe me but I promise I didn't steal. **

**Disclamer: Nope, zip, zero, nada. **

**3**

**Imaginary Friends **

Regina's eyes snapped open. "Who's there? Who said that?"

"Over here, sweetling."

The former princess's head whipped to the left, her gaze wandering to the crystal-encrusted mirror that stood beside her wardrobe. Where she had expected to see a reflection of her own startled face within the glass, she was instead met with a pair of bright, amethyst orbs. "Wha-" Regina blinked and rubbed the backs of her hands over her wary eyes. She couldn't really have seen what she thought she had, could she?

_Stop being ridiculous,_ Cora's voice reverberated harshly in her head. _Just because you__'__ve convinced the Dark One to veil you from my sight- for now- that doesn__'__t mean any of your preposterous childhood fantasies about angels watching over you from your mirrors are actually true. Be sensible, Regina. _

The former princess closed her eyes so nothing save for darkness shrouded her vision. _It's not real, _she repeated. It _couldn't _be real.

"Oh, really, Regina, there's no need to be so frightened. Why, you act as though you've never been visited by an enchantress before!"

_It's not that, _she thought grimly as more blood drained from her face and she set her lips together in a tight line. _It's that I _have _been visited by your kind before. And my mother nearly killed me when she found out. _

She took a deep breath as she tried to keep her hands from shaking. She knew it had to be a sleep-deprived hallucination, but she couldn't help being reminded of those countless days during her lonely childhood when she _swore _with every fiber of her being that there really were guardian angels beyond the thin glass. One in particular came to visit more than the others, a fair-skinned girl who appeared to be Regina's age. She wore a headband of glistening golden leaves atop her long crop of sandy curls that bounced every time she laughed. Regina often told her she wished _her _hair would grow like that one day, but Autumn always said she thought the young princess's sleek ebony waves were so much prettier. The enchantress had kind amber eyes that sparkled with flecks of gold when she smiled and her dress was made of the finest and most colorful of the fall leaves.

Regina spent hours in front of her vanity, enraptured by her friend's ancient tales of daring swordfights and far off places. Women were never mere prizes to be won or damsels to be rescued. They were powerful, intelligent girls respected for their sharp wit and insightful minds. Autumn's stories gave Regina hope. They gave her the faith and courage she so desperately needed. For much of her brief youth, the Girl in the Glass was Regina's best friend.

On her tenth birthday, that all came crashing down. Cora caught her talking to the ethereal reflection, and abruptly decided it was time for Regina to 'stop living in a fantasy' and start behaving like a proper young lady. She covered all the mirrors in their manor and declared that if she ever saw Regina talking to them again, they would all be shattered. Regina begged her mother to reconsider, but Cora would hear nothing of it. Autumn still came to visit, but Cora watched her so closely that Regina could never sneak away to see her.

Once, when she was twelve, Cora and Henry left for the weekend to attend a ball in King George's land. When she was sure they were gone, Regina carefully unveiled the vanity in her room and called out to her friend. She and Autumn spent three glorious hours talking before her mother unexpectedly returned home.

Regina received the beating of her life and was very nearly thrown into the sanatorium upon Cora claiming she'd gone mad. Her father rode up just as the carriage had come to take her away. That was the first and only time Regina had truly seen Henry angry. He fought with Cora for a week straight after that, and to this day the princess never lingered too long in front of the glass, for fear of what her mother might do if she ever found out.

The sorceress clucked her tongue as silence continued to echo around the room. Only the occasional hoot of night owls and chirp of crickets punctured the deafening quiet. "You still with me, sweetling?"

Regina sucked in her breath and reluctantly opened her eyes, warm brown meeting with the amethyst irises in the mirror.

"Oh, good. You completely abandoned me there for a bit. Would you like to join us back in the present? Hmm?"

"I-I'm sorry," she apologized, her words coming out in no more than a raspy whisper. She curled her knees up to her chest and let her gaze drift down to the orchid sheets as she twisted them between her fingers. "It's just..." She took another ragged breath and forced herself to speak around the growing lump in her throat. "The last time… The last time I met one of you... " She shut her eyes again as memories of her mother's whipping seared at her brain. A harsh yank of her hair. A punch to the gut that took every ounce of oxygen from her body. A kick to the floor that left tears streaming down her face as she moved limply into a fetal position and clutched her side. And harsh, biting words that cut deeper wounds than she ever thought possible.

_You're not my daughter. _

_Insolent, treacherous girl. _

_I should have left you for dead when I had the chance. _

A pitiful whimper escaped her lips, and the enchantress felt her heart crack in two with sympathy for the wilted girl in front of her. Autumn had warned her that such a visit might make the girl a bit fragile, but she never imagined it would be this bad. Poor Regina looked as though she were trapped in a nightmare she never believed would end.

"It's alright, bug," she soothed softly. "I'm not here to hurt you. I just wanted to explain a few things." Still, the girl didn't move. "Regina? Can you open your eyes for me?"

Regina didn't want to, but something in the woman's voice made her think she could be trusted. In such slow motion it was almost painful to watch. She inched her eyes open until once again moist chocolate met gentle amethyst.

"There's a good girl." The enchantress smiled warmly and some of the tension seeped from Regina's shoulders. The woman had long, snow-white hair and wore a crown as blue as the bluest frost. Her dress glittered even in the lightless room, like it had been formed from ice itself. She radiated wisdom and superiority, but though Regina knew she had to be millennia old, her complexion was ageless. In spite of her nervousness, the smallest of smiles curled up Regina's lips.

"Who are you?" she asked, mystified. She cautiously climbed out of bed and crept to the mirror. "What are you doing here? H-How did you know I was here?"

"My apologies for startling you, sweetling, but I am the guardian of the Dark One. I know everything that goes on in this castle."

"His guardian?"

"Yes. I am Winter. Many millennia ago, when the realms were young and time did not yet exist, the all-father created my sisters and I, the Seasons, to be his patrons."

"His patrons?"

Winter nodded. "Contrary to what most believe, Regina, the all-father cannot do everything himself." She winked and the young girl rewarded her with a shy grin as she nibbled her lip. "I am the oldest, thus I have the least pleasant job. I am required to watch after all the dark beings and deeds of the world. Most of my duties fall to guarding the Dark One himself, though from time to time I must help souls cross over into the light to become one with the all-father, but that's a cakewalk compared to looking after this imp." She giggled and her hair glittered in the moonlight as it billowed about her when she laughed.

"You mean, every time someone commits a misdeed, it's brought to your attention?"

"Yes. Though my sister Autumn is the only one allowed to directly interfere in the lives of mortals, even the magic-born, since Autumn is the season of transition and balance. She can only intercede in dire circumstances, and only by the smallest margin if she wishes to stay within the ancient law, but even so, she helps steer those facing large life choices or changes to choose the right path. I am only informed of misdeeds so that I may know where to guide souls after death."

Regina's ears prickled upon hearing that familiar name. She stared wide-eyed at the enchantress, her mouth agape. "Did… Did you say Autumn?"

Winter smiled. "Your paths have crossed before, I believe?"

The brunette nodded vigorously. "When I was younger…" she breathed. "She and I were… friends. I think… I think she saved me… once. When my mother beat me after finding us talking when she'd forbidden it…" Regina was almost entirely lost in thought now, but Winter hummed gravely.

"You are correct, sweetling. That night... I remember it clear as day. Autumn pleaded to the all-father to let her help you, and he finally agreed once he saw the severity of the situation. You are destined for great things, Regina. He wasn't going to let you leave us before your time."

"Leave you?" Regina gasped. "You mean… My mother almost… Literally?" She shuddered, unable to finish that thought.

"_Almost_ dear," Winter affirmed. "But she didn't, because where there is darkness, there must be light. You were that light for the your mother until the darkness fully enshrouded her heart, Regina, and you will continue to light the way for others too."

"I… I will?"

"You will, but for now, there are some things you must know about your new guardian."

Regina's head was beginning to swim with all this new information, but she managed to weakly croak out, "Like what?"

"Rumpelstiltskin is not like the other Dark Ones, sweetling, who took the curse willingly only because they lusted for power and paid no mind to its price. Zoso, the Dark One who preceded Rumpelstiltskin, tricked the spinner into taking on the curse. That is when things changed. Rumpelstiltskin was an honorable man, hardworking, full of love for his precious child and strong of spirit despite the stigma of cowardice that was attached to his name. He only wished to have the power to protect the one he loved, to save his son from the brink of death when no one else would help. His motives were noble. He is therefore able to control the dark spirit instead of it controlling him."

"Baelfire almost died?"

"Yes, but that is a story for the spinner to tell." She dismissed the question with a flick of her wrist. "His bravery intrigued me. Baelfire was the love of his life, his one link to humanity that the dark spirit couldn't take from him. It was a struggle to fight off the Dark One, and Rumple would yield to it more often than not, but at least he fought against it…for Baelfire. There was a brief time when I didn't think even his unbound love for the boy would be enough to wrangle the darkness. Has he told you of the loss of his son to that vile bastard trapped in a child's body? May the darkest spirits devour him when his days finally cease!"

Regina shook her head, utterly bewildered. "No, he never mentioned..." Her eyes widened as realization dawned. "Wait, does this have something to do with that 'infernal island' he mentioned earlier? Is that why Bae is still only fourteen? Has he spent time in the Land of Dreams?" Surely he couldn't really have gone to Neverland, also known to the Enchanted Forest as the Land of Dreams, could he?

Winter covered her mouth with her hand and shook her head ruefully. "If he hasn't told you, it is not for me to say, bug. Though I can't imagine how confused you were, listening to him ramble like a lunatic about what must have seemed like very nonsensical matters without that succulent little morsel of information."

"Now that you mention it…" Regina muttered.

"No matter, sweetling. Rumpelstiltskin is perhaps the most stubborn of the imps I have ever had the displeasure to look after. You will learn what you need to know, in time."

Regina frowned. "But-" Suddenly, Winter's image rippled in the mirror. The enchantress sighed. "It seems I must leave you now. Make some extra trouble for the imp while I'm gone." She winked conspiratorially.

"What?" Regina sputtered. "But wait-" She had more questions now than ever. Why hadn't Rumple mentioned Winter before? What was Bae's time in Neverland like? Where was Autumn? Would she ever see her again, now that she was free of her mother's clutches? She had to know. "Can I at least ask-"

"Sweet dreams, Regina," Winter called as she began to fade. "Tell the imp I said hello." And before Regina could utter another syllable, the enchantress was gone.

The next morning, Regina awoke bleary-eyed and confused. Memories of the previous night flooded her subconscious, but she couldn't decide the difference between reality and what could very well be perceived as dreams. Had she really conversed with the guardian of the Dark One last night? Or had it just been an extremely vivid dream induced by sheer exhaustion? If it _was _in fact real, did she dare mention it to Rumpelstiltskin? Her mother hadn't hesitated to call the sanatorium, so why wouldn't the Dark One? Then again, if Regina were to take what Winter had said last night to heart, Rumpelstiltskin had spent a centuries battling for the control of his conscience from a demon brought forth from the deepest depths of the underworld. Compared to that, maybe Regina's confession wouldn't seem as deranged as she'd once thought.

She contemplated this as she bathed and dressed. As she turned around in front of the mirror to tighten the last of the strings on her corset, she studied the glass over her shoulder. Everything looked as it had before. There were no cracks in the surface, no obvious bends or warps in the frame, nothing but the silky voice silent as the bitter wind as it danced across the young girl's memory to reassure her that the sorceress had been there at all.

Regina shook out her damp ebony locks and sighed in frustration. Autumn never left any trace either. At least, none that she could see or cared to remember. After her mother's lashing seven years ago, the princess did her best to wipe the supposedly invisible enchantress from existence. She went to the best healers and alchemists around, consuming potion after potion trying to rid herself of any recollection of the girl she once called her best friend.

Autumn's memory, however, was far more persistent than she'd ever accounted for. For as many potions as she sampled, as many healers as she sought, the girl could be reduced to no less than a wispy shred of a ghost in the back of Regina's mind.

It wasn't much, but last night's experience proved that even the faintest of recollections could be recalled with a little push. It was indeed painful to remember, but the former princess no longer had such a burning desire to forget. Autumn had been Regina's first true friend, and she wasn't about to let her presence go dormant again without finding some answers. In order to do that, though, she would have to risk her state of sanity in the eyes of Rumpelstiltskin and reveal the secret she'd kept buried for so long.

As she ambled down the endless flights of stairs and across the long halls, having to turn around and retrace her steps - at least five times before she found the correct path to the parlor - she calculated the possible outcomes of such a reveal in her head. More were negative than positive, and she ultimately decided against the idea, at least for now. After all, she'd only meet the man not even twelve hours ago, and she wasn't at all sure yet that he could be trusted. Should she spill her secrets too quickly, there was no telling what he might make her do.

_Curse that __cryptic__ contract! _she seethed. Not that she'd really taken proper time to read it. Back then she'd been so desperate to escape her mother that she hadn't even considered what it would mean to be a willing ward of the Dark One. Not only could he make her do his worst deeds, but she would never be able to complain because she was not a prisoner. She had _chosen_ this life, and now she had to live with the consequences, whatever they might be.

Finally, after numerous restarts, Regina managed to make her way back into the Great Hall where Rumple's transportation spell had dropped them upon their arrival last night. Regina wandered to the center of the room. Though a fire roared in the enormous hearth, it was otherwise vacant of people. It was tempting to examine the archive worth of trinkets that littered its massive space and covered the cabinets and shelves, but after what happened with Arias, she wasn't anxious to bring anymore objects to life, especially without her mentor in sight in case something went wrong. Even after her talk with Winter, the thought that her powers might surface soon scared her witless. If the change had to happen, she certainly didn't want to hurry it along any more than absolutely necessary.

"Rumpelstiltskin?" she called cautiously, her voice ricocheting off the walls and reverberating in her ears.

"This way, dearie. In the kitchen."

Regina followed the echo of his voice until she reached the expansive galley. Her eyes widened in shock as she took everything in. Several pots were boiling themselves on the gleaming twelve-burner stove, and Regina guessed they must have contained either eggs or some variety of a warm cereal such as oatmeal or curds and whey. Enchanted knives cut up various fruits and vegetables, which then tossed themselves into a nearby fruit bowl or saucepan to make omelets. She did a double take when she realized her mentor was just pulling a fresh pan of bacon out of the oven before he turned around to flip some French toast on the griddle. Regina's mouth watered as the heavenly scent of vanilla mixed with cinnamon, sugar, and a spice she couldn't quite identify wafted up her nose. At the large round table to her right, which had been carved of the finest cedar and decorated with various intricate designs, a boy with shaggy brown curls and large chocolate eyes moaned happily as he shoved spoonful after spoonful of oatmeal between his lips. Baelfire.

"Mmm, Papa, this is great. I missed your cooking while I was… away."

The elder of the two beamed at his son from his place behind the stove. "I'm just glad to see your appetite returning, my boy."

"Mmm hmm." He nodded vigorously and took another big bite. "Can I have some French toast too?"

Rumple laughed at this request, considering the boy's bowl was still more than half full. "Eat your oatmeal first, Bae. Then we'll see."

Regina smiled at the easy flow of conversation. Watching the boy's mass of unkempt hair drop into his eyes as he leaned over the dish once more, she felt a slight pang of envy, seeing them together. This, she supposed, was the kind of relationship normal parents had with their children.

She cleared her throat and shuffled awkwardly on the balls of her feet, attempting to chase away those somber thoughts. Rumpelstiltskin turned abruptly toward the sound, smiling the slightest bit wider when he spotted the young girl. "Ah, there you are, pet. I was beginning to think you would sleep the whole morning away. It's nearly ten."

Regina blushed and cautiously padded into the kitchen, still marveling at the amount of food littering the counters. "Good... morning," she greeted hesitantly. "Are you feeding an army?"

The sorcerer laughed. "Hardly, Regina. I like to make things ahead on weekends so we can both eat what we like during the week. I'm … I'm away quite often, and Bae is rather particular about his meals." Regina's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Oh, don't look so disbelieving, dearie. I wasn't _always _a mage. I did have to feed myself on occasion, if I wished to continue living." The young girl flushed, unsure whether he was serious and she had actually insulted him with her assumption. She took a small step back and swallowed convulsively.

"Of… Of course, sir. I merely meant-" The imp's eyes sparkled as he flipped another piece of toast on the nearby platter.

"Relax, pet. It was a quip."

"Ah," Regina said, feeling her cheeks flame.

Bae, who had only just taken notice of the intruder standing in the kitchen after inhaling his first bowl of food, wrinkled his nose in contempt behind the ebony-haired girl's back. "Papa, who is _she_?"

Rumple smiled and picked up the warm plate of toast, beckoning for Regina to follow him. She did so without lifting her gaze from the floor. "Son, this is Regina. She's going to be staying with us for a while," explained his father. Regina couldn't help but notice the kindness in his voice as he addressed the boy and how his features softened towards him. It appeared this man had many sides, and some of them were reserved for family only.

"Nice to meet you, Baelfire." She smiled shyly, making sure to maintain eye contact with the boy just long enough so as not to be considered rude. As she went to pull out a char and take her seat a little ways down from Rumple's spot at the table, she tripped over a long velvet sheet and had to catch herself on the rim of the table. Heat crept up her cheeks once more as Bae and his father stifled chuckles. "Sorry," she apologized, fumbling into her seat. Unbeknownst to her master and his son, her fall had caused the jade mirror just behind Rumpelstiltskin to be unveiled, exposing its pristinely polished glass.

"Careful there, pet. There are many things to trip one up in a castle as large as this."

_So I've noticed. _Regina thought ruefully. She turned to her guardian with a grateful nod. "I'll bear that in mind, thank you."

"Are you...Are you going to be my new governess?" he interrupted suddenly, pointing his fork at Regina and glancing with a mix of distaste and uncertainty between the brunette and his father.

"Well I, uh…" Regina shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she reached forward to grab the fruit bowl and locked eyes with her mentor. She wasn't exactly sure yet what she was supposed to be doing.

"Because I'm fourteen years old, older if you count my time on Neverland, I don't need a governess."

"Bae!" his father objected, glaring at him and cursing the fact that he'd revealed that little precious tidbit so soon. The boy sunk down in his seat under his father's stern gaze and the sorcerer glanced at Regina. The girl, however, didn't seem the least bit surprised by this revelation, and only continued to pick nervously at her food, waiting for her mentor to continue. _Hmm, _he thought. _That's odd. _Usually Bae's stories about that bloody island elicited some form of a reaction. When he'd returned a little over a month ago, he'd tried to go down to the village and explain what had happened to him, but his childhood friends were long dead now, or very nearly so, and rumors started to circulate that he was never the Dark One's son at all, but just a poor lad whose memory Rumple had wiped before placing an de-aging spell on him to keep from going mad locked up alone on the mountain in his drafty castle. Since then, Rumple had demanded Bae never leave the castle grounds, for fear of what the townspeople might do to him. He sighed and ran a scaly hand over his face before addressing the boy once more. "Yes, to answer your question. I brought her here to care for you, but more so because she needed my help. You see she-"

"_She_ needed your help?" his son interrupted, looking incredulously to Regina again. "But you're a princess, aren't you? You look like one." He gestured to her extravagant dress and ignored his father's disapproving tone.

"Bae…"

Regina gulped and squirmed under the boy's judgmental gaze. "Well, yes-"

Bae snorted. "I thought so. What could a prissy girl like _you _want with us?" he snorted arrogantly, upset that his father had brought home yet another uninvited guest, and a snobby looking princess at that, without telling him.

"Baelfire Gold, mind your manners!" Rumple scolded sternly.

His son dropped his gaze and mumbled, "Sorry, Papa," to his shoes.

"That's better. Now, would you like to say hello properly this time?" he asked, raising a pointed eyebrow.

The boy continued to stir his now cold second bowl of oats, but he knew his father meant business. In spite of his curse, he had always taught Bae to be cordial to his guests. He finally mumbled out a disgruntled, "Hello, it's nice to meet you."

"And you as well, Baelfire," Regina returned politely. The boy snorted as though he didn't believe a word that came out of her mouth.

"Yeah, I'm sure," he muttered under his breath.

"What was that Baelfire?" his father asked. "Did I hear you say you'd like to spend your Saturday helping me alphabetize the library again?'

"No, Papa," he mumbled, shooting Regina a mock-glare that nevertheless made her squirm in her seat.

Rumple gave a curt nod. "That's what I thought. Apologize to Regina right now, young man."

"Sorry," he huffed before stuffing his mouth again.

Regina managed to muster a strained smile. "It's… It's alright."

"Good," Rumple said. "Now Bae, this afternoon I'm giving Regina a tour of the grounds. And _you _mister; to make up for your brief lapse of manners, will help me dye my yarn to take to market when I bring her down to town tomorrow."

Bae groaned. "Awww! But Papa!"

"No _buts_, Bae. Now hurry up and eat. You have a lot of work to do this afternoon."

His son reluctantly plucked one of the ripest strawberries from the bowl. "Alright."

They settled into an uncomfortable silence as they finished their meal. Regina kept contemplating whether or not to bring up the strange enchantress, as she was still tugging at the forefront of the girl's mind. Yet every way she thought of to introduce the subject would surely make her sound like a lunatic. The mirror behind Rumple's head began to shimmer, the movement catching her eye. She gasped and covered her mouth in surprise as Winter's form solidified in the glass.

"Why, hello again, bug. Long time no see. And Rumple, you're looking especially scaly this morning. Were you hoping for me to drop in? You never leave this mirror uncovered."

The sorcerer stiffened upon hearing that voice, and fire lit his gaze as she spun around toward the mirror. "Hello, snowball," he spat. She bristled visibly, her eyes narrowing at the pet name. He knew it irritated her to no end. "What are you doing here? Spying again?"

She waved a hand dismissively. "You well know that I do _not_ spy. It's my duty to watch over you. I was just a mite curious about your visitor. You _never_ invite anyone to stay the night at the Dark Castle."

"Who I have in my castle is none of your business, you snoop." the sorcerer growled. "Now be gone with you. If you have matters to discuss with me, you know where to go."

The sorceress clucked her tongue and shook her long, snow-white locks. "How quickly you forget, _dearie. _I am your guardian. _Everything _that goes on in your castle is my business."

"Like hell it is. Go back to your own mirror and let us enjoy our meal in peace."

Bae hid a smirk as Winter crossed her arms and pouted pitifully. "I don't want to go back to the ballroom," she whined. "It's drafty in there."

"Tough, dearie. That's the mirror you chose when you became patron of this infernal place, or so you claim, and so there you shall stay. Now leave us be."

Regina watched the exchange, her mouth agape. "Wait, you can see her, too?

Rumple cocked his head toward her, studying her face as though she'd just started speaking a foreign tongue even more ancient than he. "Of course I can see her, I'm not blind nor senile, dearie."

The girl's gaze swiveled to Bae, who nearly choked on his strawberry trying to bit back a laugh at his father's quip. "And I suppose you can as well?"

Bae locked her gaze for a split second before shaking his head and rolling his eyes in disbelief. "Well, duh. Princess. She's right there."

Regina continued to gape at him, utterly confused, but somewhat relieved to know her mother was wrong, and she had indeed _not _gone crazy as a child. "H- How is this possible?"

Rumple did his best to ignore his son's chatter, wanting to simply get rid of his meddlesome warden and go about his day like usual. "What are you even doing here? You're not due to badger me for another month," he said turning to finish his breakfast before it got cold.

Winter shrugged and fiddled with her crown. "I was bored. And I needed to make sure the little ladybug over there," she grinned and flicked a finger toward Regina, who swallowed and sat up a little straighter under the sorceresses watchful eye, "didn't reduce us to just a figment of her imagination again."

Bae's brow furrowed as he scowled at his potential governess. "You don't believe in the enchantresses of the realm? Where've you been living … under a rock?"

Regina's face burned. She fumbled for the right words to explain. "No… it… it's not that. I _did _believe in them, once. I was even friends with one long ago, but Mother nearly killed me when she found out, literally. If my father hadn't arrived home in time, I would have been sent to the sanatorium." The confession earned a collective gasp from both Rumple and his son. "I went to the best alchemists in my kingdom and took many memory potions in order to forget what happened so that I could avoid facing my mother's wrath."

Winter stuck out her lower lip in sympathy for the young girl. "Poor, bug, she's suffered greatly from what Autumn tells me." Then her eyes narrowed and she peered curiously at Rumple. "And you still haven't enlightened me, imp. What great sense of charity moved you to ask her to come here? Surely, the Dark One isn't _just_ feeling generous?"

Rumple simply grunted and tossed the enchantress a steely glare over his shoulder. "You know this story, snowball. Must we relive such unpleasant events more than once?"

His guardian tisk-ed and wagged a finger at the mage "It's only fair that the ladybug knows the truth about her own mother. Or were you going to keep that from her too? Tell me, spinner, how long did you think it would take before Regina put the pieces together about your boy's little jaunt with your bastard father?"

"You treacherous harpy!" the Dark One growled. "You _told _her?"

Bae sat back in his chair and reached for a bowl of cherries, fascinated by their argument.

Winter shrugged as the corners of her lips were tugged upward in a superior smile. "It may have slipped out in passing. She had a right to know."

"But it wasn't _your _place to tell her," he insisted. "Honestly, can't I do _anything _without you interfering?"

"Apparently not."

Regina pushed her chair back and abruptly stood up. Arguing was getting them nowhere and she was determined to get some answers before this conversation ceased. "Would _someone _tell me what's going on? Winter, you said Bae went to Neverland, what does that have to do with the Dark One's father? And what do you mean 'the truth about my own mother'?" Her befuddled eyes abruptly locked on Rumpelstiltskin's. What aren't you telling me?"

"Regina, dearie," the sorcerer hedged, "finish your breakfast. We'll discuss this later …If ever."

Regina opened her mouth to object, but Winter beat her to it.

"There's no use hiding it from her. She'll find out sooner or later in this decrepit fortress full of lies."

"Tell me Rumpelstiltskin," she begged, never dropping her gaze. "Please. What is she talking about?"

Bae's eyes widened as realization suddenly dawned. "Wait… So Regina's _mother _is the woman you abandoned to come after me? Seriously, Papa?"

The blood drained from Regina's face and her head whipped toward the younger Gold. "_What?_" she shrieked. "Bae, what do you mean? _He's_ the man who _abandoned _my mother? For _you_?"

Cora had told her she'd been in love once, long ago, but she always said he left her. Regina had just assumed he'd died. She'd never even considered any other possibility. Until now. She whirled on the old mage again. For an instant, pure hatred clouded her vision, tinting the whole world red.

"You!" she growled. "How could you do that? How could you sit there in my room and feed me that pack of outlandish lies?"

"I never lied, dearie." Rumple's voice was eerily calm.

"But you never told the truth," she shot back.

"Yes I did, Regina. I do want to amend my mistake. I shouldn't have left poor Cora like I did, but if I hadn't gone after Bae right then, I might have lost him forever."

Regina sniffed and balled her fists. " You could've come back for her!" she pointed out. "For _us. _You could've saved her from the darkness, but instead you left her to rot, and me as well."

"I did come back, Regina," he tried to protest.

"Yeah, when I summoned you!" she retorted. "Why did it have to take magic, huh? You went back for Bae, why not me?"

"Cora wasn't pregnant when I knew her! You were always Henry's daughter, never mine."

"But I could have been!" she shouted. "When we met last night, you said you'd known me for a long time, that you'd been watching me. Which means you _had to _know how she hurt me when my father was away, I know you did!"

Rumple opened his mouth to apologize, but no words could take away the pain she'd faced in the past. His shoulders slumped in defeat and he shook his head sadly. "You're right. I did know," he confessed.

"Then why didn't you stop her? Why did you leave me to suffer like I did?" Tears were clogging her throat now, and she could barely speak through her rage. "You knew!" she sobbed. "For nineteen years, you knew, and you never did anything about it until last night!"

"Fate doesn't work like that, Regina, you know that! Autumn is the _only _magical being allowed to interfere at will. I had to wait until the time was right."

Regina glowered. "That's your excuse. You're going to blame nineteen years of my life on _fate?_"

"I had no choice Regina. It was not yet time for our paths to cross."

"Really?" she sneered. "Did you wait around for _fate _play a hand in when you traveled to Neverland? Or did you scour every spell book looking for a way to bring your son home?"

Her mentor looked down guiltily and the princess scoffed through her sobs.

"That's what I thought."

"Regina, dearie, please, let him explain-" The enchantress tried to intercede but Regina's anger was too strong.

"Stay outta this, snowflake," she snapped before turning back to the deflated sorcerer. "What, so you'll go to every length to save your son, but you don't even bother to check up on my mother and your potential daughter?"

"Regina-" Rumple started once more, throwing her a desperate look.

"You know, for a minute there, I was actually beginning to think you might not be as bad as the old tales say."

"I'm not-" he tried again.

"No," she snarled. You're worse."

"Hey!" Bae grappled for her am as she leaned in toward his father so they were nearly nose-to-nose. "Listen to me, Regina, this isn't what you think."

Regina huffed and wrenched her arm away. "Oh, it's exactly what I think. Your father's a coward, Baelfire. He ran out on my mother, broke, no, _darkened_ her heart, and then offered to take me in as some sort of charity project to quiet his guilty conscious!"

"Regina," her mentor sighed, "it wasn't like that."

"I knew you were the reason she turned dark, but I never imagined you would be that selfish!" She bolted up from the table and moved to make a dash for her room, but Bae grabbed her arm before she could.

"Don't you _dare _call my papa selfish you snotty, spoiled little brat! If he hadn't left your mother, that bastard Pan might have killed me!"

"Well, maybe he should have!" the irate girl retorted. "If you weren't alive, maybe my mother would still have a heart! Maybe she would've learned to love me!" Tears were streaming down her face now, but she was powerless to stop them.

"Enough!" Rumple roared, slamming his fists on the table. "Bae, that is not something I want bandied about like idle gossip. What went on between Cora and I is none of anyone's concern. Regina-"

"Don't." The brunette cut him off. "You're despicable. The whole lot of you! I should've never taken your wretched deal. I knew promises like yours were too good to be true. They always are." Before anyone else could interject, the former princess fled from the hall, the large oak door nearly shattering the mirror's glass as it slammed shut behind her.


	4. On The Run

**A/N: The events in this chapter and next are simultaneous with the three chapter before. These are from Emma's POV. Enjoy **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing **

**4**

**On The Run **

The horse's hooves pounded against the pavement. His legs stretched and flexed in time with Emma's racing heart. Wind whipped at her face, and she had to gulp in large breaths of frigid air to keep from losing consciousness. Her face was red and raw from the air slapping at her cheeks, but the princess reveled in the pain. If she kept herself preoccupied with the blurring world around her as they raced across the terrain, then maybe she could forget her parent's appalling news. She gritted her teeth and clutched the reins a little tighter, the worn leather biting into her palm.

She leaned forward in the saddle and tensed her calves, her muscles screaming in protest as she prepared for the jump. Her emerald eyes stared straight ahead as horse and rider vaulted toward the fallen tree. At the last second, she clucked her tongue and shifted position so her fingers now gripped the stallion's thick copper mane. She sank her weight into her heels and they sailed into the air just in time to avoid colliding with their obstacle. Emilio's shoes made contact with the ground and Emma kicked him into a gallop, barely wasting enough time to properly reposition herself on his back. With her free hand she tucked her long brown cloak even closer to her body. Wispy tendrils of unmistakable blonde hair billowed about her face, but she was too desperate to care. She could feel the animal's breaths becoming labored beneath her, but it wasn't time to stop. She didn't know where she was going, but she knew she had to get away. Away from her mother, away from the castle, away from the kingdom.

_Stupid, fucking ball, _she seethed. That was when all the trouble had started. Three months ago, her parents had sent invitations to every noble and mage family of the Enchanted Forest, inviting them to attend Emma's coming-out ball, a tradition for all royals when they came of age. In Emma's case, that meant her twenty first birthday, and the very idea made her want to stage a revolt. She was easily recognizable as the High Princess of Weissland, and that lofty title didn't exactly make it a simple matter for her to make friends. The people in her kingdom were too busy bowing, scraping, and trying to curry favor with her to want to befriend her. She was revered and envied, but no matter how much power her bloodline possessed she couldn't garner the one thing she wanted … friendship and respect. She could never truly believe someone was genuine with her crown standing in the way.

In the end though, she had finally agreed to the infernal event, if only to cease her mother's constant pestering and bothersome lectures about upholding the family honor. If she had to hear that phrase one more time, her head might have actually exploded.

_"Oh, Emma,_" her father had chided as they sparred in the arena that morning._ "It won't be that bad."_

The blonde didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the unforeseen irony laden in that statement, so instead she continued to focus on the rhythmic drumming of the Appalachian's hooves on the dirt-trodden trail as they galloped along. _Of course, _she reminded herself bitterly, _he _knew it was ironic. He had to. Or he didn't know her nearly as well as she thought he did. But then, maybe he didn't, or else he wouldn't have let her mother do what she did. Not without at least _warning _her first. Would he?

Emma shook her head. She still couldn't believe Snow had actually gone through with it. It was bad enough she was being forced to throw a ball she had no interest in hosting, especially since her parents had agreed two years ago that because they were young and healthy still, she didn't have to take on their duties until her _twenty fifth _birthday. Late for a royal, but both of her parents knew how much Emma loved her freedom and adventure, and they claimed to want her to seize her youth for as long as she could.

_So then why, _she wondered, _are they forcing me to choose a husband? _Emma had no desire to be tied down to a man, or anyone really. Most of them, like the townspeople, only lusted after her body and her title. They had no interest in discovering new lands or exploring the world. They cared only for what she could give them as a princess, never who she was as a person or what kind of family they would make together if they chose to wed. She'd tried explaining the dilemma to her parents several times whenever they asked her why she'd never brought anyone home, but no matter how many ways she said it, they just couldn't understand.

* * *

_Emma made her way down the stairs after tying up Emilio in the stables and feeding him his __well-earned __ration of oats for the day, along with a few sugar cubes she'd swiped from the stable hands. She was still on a high from having ventured to the borders of her kingdom today, further than she'd ever dared to ride given her mother's overprotective nature. She'd nearly trotted into Nacratus, Cinderella and Thomas's territory, but by the time she reached the edge of town, she'd been out for nearly four hours and she knew she had to head home or risk her mother sending the entire royal guard after her for fear she'd been __captured __by bandits. _

_Emma sniggered. It was almost comical, how much her mother feared thieves, considering she made her living as one until she__'d__ met Emma's father. Charming assured her that Snow wasn't always such a mother hen, but ever since they heard threats of Cora, the Queen of Sherwood, casting a curse for the Dark One right after Emma was conceived, Snow became extremely paranoid. She knew the Sherwood Forest, just outside of Weissland, was prime real estate for thieves. She'd grown up there with her father Graham after being banished from the kingdom when Snow was only twelve, and she was terrified that if Emma w__a__ndered too far from the kingdoms,__one day the snipers wouldn't be mere burglars looking for a little extra money, but Cora's __henchmen__ come to rip Emma away from her. The threats of a curse never came to fruition, __but Snow __was still cautious nonetheless. _

_Emma crept into the kitchen and swiped a fresh-picked apple from the cook's station before spotting the overflowing platter of cinnamon tarts left unattended on the counter. She licked her lips and promptly stuck the apple in her mouth so both hands were free to __seize __the platter, which she skillfully balanced behind her back as she darted through the kitchen doors and out into the dining room, where her father was once again __entertaining __her seven-year-old twin brothers August and Nick with the thrilling tale of how he was commissioned to slay a dragon after he made a deal with Rumpelstiltskin to masquerade as __his deceased twin brother James and heir to Midas__'__s throne in order to save his mother__'__s farm. _

_"From out of __nowhere__, the biggest beast you'd ever seen! His hide littered with the weapons of fallen warriors __—__ his scales black as the darkest charcoal and his wingspan long as the mountain was wide! I drew my sword, and__…_ _"_

_"Whoosh!" Emma snuck up behind her brothers cutting off her father right as he reached the climax of the epic adventure. "In one fiery breath, every one of the king's brave knights were extinguished. Then chop! The monster's massive jaw lunged forward and Dad was barely __swift __enough to escape.__"_

_"Emma! This is the best part!" her father mock-whined as she took over his tale. _

_Emma stuck her tongue out at him, and they shared a __conspiratorial__ wink. "Dad __leapt __into action and dragged the last remaining knight to safety before charging after the beast himself. He snatched the only sword he could find from an incinerated knight's armor __and dashed __into the smallest cave atop the cliff as the dragon lumbered behind him __…__ chomping at the bit for __a __delicious taste of the handsome prince.__"_

_"But Daddy whipped his __butt__, right Emma?"_

_The princess laughed and sent the young boy into another fit of giggles as she tickled his side. "That's right, Auggie. The dragon's maw barely fit between the cracks, and with one mighty swing of the blade-"_

_"Prince Charming to the rescue," her father finished, chuckling as his youngest children clapped and cheered. _

_"'Cause Daddy kicks everybody's butt," Nick said proudly. David ruffled his hair affectionately as Emma placed the platter of pastries in front of her seat and unsheathed her sword from her side. _

_"That's right, tiger," he grinned. "And so does Emma." He gestured to their daughter's __sheathed__ weapon with a smile. "One day, she'll be even more lethal than me with a sword."_

_"__Mmm, you better get ready, hun,__"__ his wife chimed in. __"__Because I think that day might come a little sooner than you think."_

_The king smirked. "We'll see, Snow."_

_"Daddy," piped up August, "When can I learn to use a sword? I wanna kick dragon's butts too!"_

_"Yeah, and me!" added Nick with an exuberant pump of his fists. _

_"Alright scamps, I'll teach you-"_

_"In three more years," Snow finished swiftly. "That's when Emma was allowed to learn. And you'll start with wooden swords too, just like she did. No real blades until you're thirteen. Got that__…_ David_? We don't need another trip to the infirmary for you."_

_Emma winced at the memory of almost slicing straight through her father's arm when they were spar__r__ing one day. "Sorry," she mumbled. __Her father waved a dismissive hand and swallowed a chuckle._

_"Don't worry, honey," he assured his wife. "I know the rules."_

_Snow whacked him on the arm. "Uh huh, sure you do." David grinned and cut her off with a kiss. The boys huffed and crossed their arms. _

_"Aww, mom! Emma's a _girl_! We know better than that! Can't we learn now?"_

_Snow glared at them. "Not another word, Nichola__s, a__nd if you continue to imply that __girls__ can't fight, I won't let __your father __teach you until you're _fifteen_, got it?"_

_Both boys slumped down in their seats. "Sorry, mom."_

_"Yeah, sorry."_

_"Good. Now-"_

_"Ma'am?" the housemaid interrupted. "The mail's here." _

_"Thank you, Annette." Snow accepted the bulging pile of letters. _

_"You're welcome, __m__ilady." She bowed and made her exit as the queen read over the first few __inquiries __before glancing meaningfully at her husband. _

_"Charming..."_

_"Mmm?"_

_"They've all accepted."_

_Emma looked at her mother, suddenly curious. "Who's accepted what?"_

_Her mother made eye contact with her before quickly dropping her gaze and turning to the twins. "Boys, you are excused." Her brother's squealed and bounded out of their seats to go play knights in the backyard. Emma gulped and sunk down in her chair._

_"What__…_ _di__d I do now?__"_

_Snow gave her husband a stern look and promptly announced, "Your father has something to discuss with you."_

_David's eyes widened and he spewed his wine across the table, choking in his __attempt to __swallow. __"__I__…__ What? Snow__…__"__ he __groaned__. _

_"David," she prodded, nudging him. _

_"Guys__…__?__"__ Emma asked. This was getting weird. __"__Dad?__"_

_Charming wouldn't meet his __daughter's gaze __as he nervously cleared his throat. __"__Er, well, you see__…__"_

_"Yes?"_

_"Well, what with the ball coming up and all__…__"_

_Emma groaned. "More preparations? What else could there possibly be to do?"_

_"Well, um, it's not preparations per __se__…__"__ Her father fidgeted in his chair and desperately sought out his wife while his daughter's brow furrowed in confusion. _

_"Okay__…__ then what is it?__"_

_"Well, it's um__…__ Snow?__"_

_She __pressed her lips into a thin line of irritation __and rolled her eyes, "Emma, you know that the ball is in celebration of your twenty-first birthday, yes?"_

_"Right__…__?__"_

_"Well, traditionally when a princess turns twenty-one, they are of age to rule the kingdom.__"_

_"I know__…__ but we already talked about that, remember? You told me I could wait a few more years.__"_

_"Yes, and we stand by that but-"_

_"Mom, come on, what's this about?"_

_"Well, you see__,__ Emma, normally when a girl comes of age to rule a kingdom, she must choose a husband to rule with her. We know you aren't due to rule for awhile yet but-"_

_Emma gasped__, and__ vaulted up from her chair. "You want me to get married?" she shrieked. "_That's_ why you want to have this ball? __So the lords of the land can have their pick of me?__"_

_"Emma," Charming __began__, "it's not like that."_

_"We just want you to be happy," her mother __insisted__. _

_"You promised me four more years of freedom," she reminded them and they both looked away guiltily. "And now I find out you only said that so you could chain me to a man? And to what? Combine even _more _kingdom's because we don't already have _enough _problems to deal with?"_

_Snow's gaze snapped up to meet her daughter's, a sudden determination flaring in her eyes. "Emma, this will help us! There's been a drought on the west side for three years now. We _need _their support."_

_"And it's not only for us, honey," her father added, placing a calming hand on his wife's shoulder. "All we've ever wanted was for you to find you're happily ever after, and this ball might give you that chance."_

_Emma snorted and glowered at her parents. "You can't 'force' True Love, isn't that what you've always said? That it just happens?"_

_"Well, yes, but-" Snow tried to counter. _

_"Then why are you trying to do it to me? After what happened last time, you really think I want to go husband shopping at a ball?"_

_"Emma, we just want-"_

_"No! You don't care about me. You just want to protect your precious kingdom!"_

_"Emma!" Snow gasped, tears welling in her eyes. _

_"Emma, that's just not true!"_

_"Well, I won't do it," she asserted. "And you can't make me!" __S__he bolted from the dining room and tore through the castle, a plan already forming faintly in her head. She wound her way through the various corridors, heading for the servant's quarters as a fierce combination of bitter anger and betrayal flared in her chest. _

_"Emma, come back, here!" her mother shouted. _

_"Honey, let's at least discuss the idea-" David begged. Emma ignored them both._

* * *

The ambush had occurred over two hours ago by now, but thinking about is still made her blood boil. How could they do something like that? They met in the most random and unplanned circumstances imaginable, why did she have to be coerced into it? Simply because she was royal, she couldn't call her life her own? Well, bullshit. If her parents weren't going to listen, then she'd find someone who would. Once she'd reached the servant's quarters, Emma had ditched her royal attire in exchange for one of the spare uniforms and her mother's old cloak that she'd left in the stables. It wasn't the best disguise, but it was better than her gaudy royal wear. It was a simple peasant-style dress with a dark brown bodice and cream-colored sleeves and skirt. It showed a lot of her cleavage, since, unlike most of her gowns, it wasn't tailored specifically for her. Her mother's cloak matched the dark shade of the corset and, thanks the gods, it helped her blend into the trees. Or so she thought.

From out of nowhere, Emma's senses sharpened as the thundering of hooves pounded the loam close behind her. "Shit," she hissed. She crouched forward in her seat and urged her horse to gallop faster.

"There she is!" a man's gruff voice resounded. She dared a peek behind her, only to be greeted by three of her mother's guards atop their ebony stallions. Another string of violent curses whirled in her mind as she dug her heels into her stallion's sides and quickened his pace once more.

"Stop in the name of the queen!" one hollered back, and she snickered at his word choice. She was the queen, or would be one day. As they closed in on her, Emma ducked her head just in time to avoid being knocked unconscious by a low- hanging tree branch as they weaved their way through the thickening grove of trees. A few yards back she heard someone yell "Ooph!" as all the air whooshed from their body and she couldn't help but smirk. One of her mother's guards hadn't been so lucky.

She glanced over her shoulder to find the remaining two still hot on her trail. The grove was as thick as it would get on this path, and the guards were inching closer by the second. Frantically, she scanned the horizon for another way out. She needed a plan, and fast. Just up ahead, a fork in the road caught her eye. One road was worn down by travelers, but the other overflowed with thick vegetation. She knew instantly the left way was her best chance of escape. Emma took a deep breath when she approached the fork, then spurred the stallion onward, and plunged into the underbrush. Thorns tore at her dress and sharp, unattended branches clouded her vision in a spray of pine needles and leaves, but Emma didn't pay them any mind. She heard the guards spitting curses as they attempted to keep up and she knew her plan was working.

Just when the woods began to thin around her, and the dull drum of her pursuers' hooves against the forest floor returned to their rhythmic pounding, there was a loud, menacing hiss behind her horse's tail. Relief flooded her chest when a lurking serpent spooked the remaining guards' stallions. They were thrown off and left to fend for themselves as she rode onward. She thought she was out of the woods until her stallion stumbled into a briar patch. The horse whinnied in pain, rearing back. She tumbled off, landing on the ground with a thump. She knew the fall was going to leave an ugly bruise by the burning pain already thrumming beneath her skin, but she was more concerned about her horse. Her mother would surely send more guards, as soon as the horses found their way back to the palace alone, and they would apprehend her with no trouble at all if she was immobile. Grunting, she stiffly stood up and winced when she put weight on her right ankle.

"Great," she groaned, picking the leaves and stray sticks out of her hair as she limped over to the nearest stump and plopped down. She lifted her petticoat and crossed her leg over her knee, reaching out to wiggle the boot over her steadily swelling foot. "Ahh Shi-" She bit her lip to keep from crying out as the boot slipped over her ankle and twisted it at an odd angle. She threw it aside and beckoned her horse to her side, frowning when she noticed that he too, was limping. "Tough fall, eh boy?" she asked ruefully, stroking his muzzle. She fished the lantern from her saddlebag and struck it, illuminating the darkening woods that were now just barely lit by the red glow of the setting sun. Her face twisted when she caught sight of her injured foot. It was growing bigger by the second and covered in angry purple and blue bruises. It hurt to move, but she couldn't tell if it was sprained, broken, or merely bruised

Somehow, she had to make it to the nearest village before nightfall, but walking wasn't an option. She slumped further down on the wood, trying to remember what her mother had taught her to do if she were ever injured in the wild. Her fingers closed around the onyx disk engraved with a white swan that always hung around her neck and she blinked away angry tears before ripping it off her neck and stuffing it in the saddlebag. It had been a gift from the first man she had ever loved, and she still couldn't fathom the fact that her parents wanted her to go through with this ball and chose a husband after what he'd done to her. Neal was a prince from the Northern Isles, the youngest of twelve brothers and five sisters. When Emma was just thirteen, he had tricked her into thinking her loved her. He even went so far as to say he wanted to meet her in "their special place" to ask her a question. The princess gulped around a large lump that had formed in her throat as she thought of the way her heart had raced inside her chest, so hard she was sure it might burst. She was positive he was going to ask for her hand; and she would've given it without a second thought.

When she arrived in the orchard where they first met, however, it quickly became apparent that all was not as it seemed. Neal and six of his brothers had attempted to kidnap her, planning to hold her for ransom and lay siege to her parent's kingdom. The only reason they didn't succeed was that Charming had stopped them. Apparently, he had overheard some of Neal's brothers talking about the plan in town, and when he realized who they were and what they were saying, he immediately rode off after his daughter and the dastardly prince.

Since then, Emma had guarded her heart like a precious gem, always afraid that if anyone came close, even as a friend, they would convince her to lower her shields only to have it shattered again. She kept the pendent as a reminder to never fall in the trap of naivety again. Why would her parents even contemplate such an idea, after they knew how badly he'd hurt her? How he'd caused her to seal her heart, and how alone she'd felt since it happened?

_Maybe they were tired of seeing you so lonely, _a voice suggested. _They only want what's best for you. _Emma snorted. Even if that were true, they sure had a funny way of showing it.

The fire in her lantern began to flicker, and the princess realized she'd better hurry and fix her ankle if she wanted to reach town before the chill of night settled in. She pulled her cloak tighter around herself as a breeze swept through the trees and wracked her - what was the acronym her mother always used when caring for an injured ankle? Oh, PRICE. Pressure, Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. Well, two of the five of those options were out of the question, since she was stranded in the forest, but Emma knew enough to be able to fashion a makeshift splint for herself, at least until she could find help. She ripped a piece of her dress from the hem, dampening it with some water from her canteen and securing it tightly around her foot. She glanced around, but didn't recognize any of the herbs as the ones her mother had showed her for natural pain relievers. She would just have to grin and bear it until they stumbled across a village, which she hoped, would be soon. She broke off a sturdy looking branch from a nearby tree and draped her other arm around her horse's neck, leaning heavily on both as she gingerly pushed up off the stump, trying to keep as much weight off her ankle as possible. Clutching the reins tightly in one trembling hand, Emma carefully inched forward, wobbling as the uneven forest floor threw off her balance. She kept the lantern lit and aimed it at the ground, keeping a sharp eye out for creatures or bothersome roots that might trip them up, and together, horse and rider limped ahead toward the light and out of the forest.

* * *

Emma didn't know how long they traveled, but before long, she was sweating profusely as her ankle continued to throb with pain. Her vision began to swim, and the lantern had gone out long ago. Emma had to rely on touch, smell, and the methodical tensing and relaxing of her companion's muscles along with his soft whinnies to find her way as they stumbled through the trees. Finally, when the girl was certain she would collapse with exhaustion if she took one more step, the trees thinned completely, and the glint of the full moon lit their way, With the last of her energy, Emma urged her horse forward and they carefully trudged up a great mossy hill. When they reached the top, to the girl's immense relief, a small cluster of lights gleamed in the distance. Unable to walk any more, she gently climbed atop her horse, leaving her legs to dangle over the side, thrilled to have the weight off of her swelling foot. She softly clucked her tongue and the horse, god bless him, inched as carefully as he could toward the warm, welcoming lights.

By the time they reached the entrance to the village, a blustery wind left the princess chilled to the bone as her lips slowly turned blue. She could scarcely see her hand in front of her face, and almost all of the lights in the small houses had been blown out, their shutters secured tightly until morning. A wolf howled in the distance, and her horse reared again. Emma held on, but just barely. Her heart launched into her throat and she couldn't catch her breath, but she did her best to soothe the frightened horse. "It's okay, boy," she rasped, patting the side of his neck with a trembling hand. "We're gonna be just fine."

They rode around as more howls ripped through the clear, cold night, each one making him jump a little higher than the last. Emma continued to pat him and mutter soothing words, but she was beginning to fear for their safety. She could no longer feel her hands in the blistering temperature, and if they didn't find shelter soon, she didn't know what would become of them by morning.

Just as she was beginning to give up hope, she spotted a rundown shed at the very edge of town, next to a lonely cottage. It was completely dark and settled near the opposite edge of the woods. She slid off her horse and cringed as her foot touched the frigid ground. She beckoned her stallion forward and together they limped to the door. Emma shoved a shoulder into the rotting wood, and it gave way almost immediately. Horse and rider crept inside, and Emma couldn't ever remember feeling so relieved as she did at the sight of the pile of fresh hay in the far corner of the barn., right next to the chicken coop shoved against the right wall. Thankfully, the twelve chickens and single rooster housed there were all fast asleep. Emma tied Emilio's reigns to the pole nearest to the hay pile before gingerly lowering herself down. The air inside the shed was damp, and the hay was slightly moist from the foggy night, but Emma's eyes fluttered closed almost quicker than her head could come to rest on the pile of sodden grain.


	5. Red Handed Part 1

**A/N: Here's chap 5 lovelies! I hope you enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: Nothing is mine!**t

**5**

**Red Handed Part 1**

Red's eyes shot open, though she wasn't quite sure why. Her gaze darted from one side of the quaint cabin to the other, searching for any possible sign as to what to, or who, had awoken her. She didn't need to let her vision adjust to the darkness. Since her thirteenth birthday four years ago, it was like she had the senses of a nocturnal creature. Everything looked strikingly clear as it stood out among the deep, black shadows. Clearer than anything she'd seen in the daylight. A branch scraped the thin wooden shutters that closed over her window, letting out a high pitched screech that made the young girl grimace and cover her ears.

Gods, she hated that shrill sound. It grated on her last nerve and some nights it made her want to punch a damn wall with its infuriating intensity. Her hearing had gotten better since puberty as well. It was sharper somehow, as was her smell. It seemed with every year that passed, her senses strengthened. She'd tried asking Granny about it, feeling fairly certain that her sudden enlightening to the world wasn't typical when one blossomed into adulthood, but the older woman would simply shake her head and tell her not to speak of such nonsense any further.

Red sighed as the branch continued to scrape against the door. She wouldn't be getting any sleep in the near future, especially since the wind was picking up. It whistled through the trees and even managed to snake its way into her room through the small crack between the windowpane and its sill, making her shiver. She tossed aside the pillow she'd placed atop her head in an attempt to block out the various nightly sounds echoing through the leaves of the Sherwoods and flipped onto her back, staring at the discolored beams that made up their slanted ceiling. She fingered the coarse crimson cloak Granny had forbid her to leave the house without ever since she'd turned thirteen, if she let her leave the house at all. It had been her birthday present, meant to be a comfort as Granny claimed it repelled wolves, but to Red it felt more like a straight jacket. During Wolf's Time- the three nights every month when the full moon was its strongest- she was even forced to sleep in it. Red hadn't the faintest idea what her overprotective guardian thought would happen in the dead of night. Even if the Wolf managed to make its way passed Granny's flawless crossbow and silver tipped arrows, a yard of flimsy fabric wasn't going to protect her granddaughter. Besides, Granny never wore red, so why should _she_ have to _sleep _in it? She huffed and flopped over onto her side, but still sleep evaded her. The night left her feeling invigorated, not exhausted, and quite frankly, Red would've given anything to be permitted to go outside for a few minutes, if only to catch a breath of fresh air.

Just as her lids were finally, mercifully, beginning to flutter shut, the crunch of a twig outside her window made her hearing peak. _Peter? _she wondered, allowing the smallest of impish grins to blossom on her lips. Had he come back after his unsuccessful attempt to coax her to the woods earlier that evening?

She slid out of bed and crept to the window. Her lower lip jetted in and out in a steady rhythm as she reached for the latch on her shutters. Granny hated having them open, after midnight during Wolf's Time most of all, but Red was tired of letting the elder Lucas control her every move. Letting her curiosity take over, she carefully undid the catch, cringing when the hinges squeaked as she eased them open.

"Red?" Granny called, and the young girl cursed inwardly. She hurried back to her bed and scrambled beneath the covers, not having time to latch the shutters before her sprightly grandmother reached the room. "Red? Are you awake, girl?"

Red turned so her back faced the doorway, squeezing her eyes tightly shut and trying her best to look natural as she feigned slumber. She heard Granny shuffle into the room, clucking her tongue as she ambled to the window and closed the shutters with a huff.

"I know you're awake, Red. What have I told you about going out at this hour? And during Wolf's Time, no less!"

Red tensed under her cape, but said nothing, still fighting her instincts to stay still.

Granny turned around and shook her head, scowling slightly when her granddaughter offered no response. "Stubborn girl," she muttered. "Even worse than her mother."

Red smirked at the comment, but did her best to keep from laughing. She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard her grandmother settle back in her old wicker chair that faced the door of their small cottage. Slipping out from under the covers once more, she tiptoed to the window and undid the catch, this time wary of the squeaky hinge. She let out another long sigh, her lips stretching into a wide smile as the cool breeze kissed her cheeks when she leaned into the crisp night air.

"Peter?" she called out in a whisper. She scanned the tree line for his form, but saw nothing. She furrowed her brow and leaned out a little further. "Peter? Are you out here?" Still nothing. "Peter!" she half-laughed. "Come on!" She stretched out once more, but this time she went a little too far. She tumbled headfirst into the fresh snow, and the bottom of her cloak got caught on the edge of the window. It slipped off of her just as she stood up, spitting snow from her mouth and brushing it from her night dress. "Well, _that _was graceful," she chuckled to herself. Scanning the woods, Red pursed her lips when nothing unusual caught her eye. "I _know _I heard something."

The last thing she remembered was trudging determinedly toward the trees before the world went blissfully black and a powerful howl ripped through the night.

* * *

Emma stirred dazedly as the thinnest rays of sunlight scattered in fractals through the dusty window at the back of the shed, right above her makeshift pallet. She moaned, rubbing her eyes and letting them adjust to the sudden light as she struggled into a sitting position.

"Owww! Argh!" She sucked in her breath and bit back a string of curses as the searing pain which gnawed at her ankle jolted her to full consciousness. Her hand immediately reached for the injured appendage, and she winced in dismay upon realizing that now, not only did it hurt like hell, but the swelling had increased overnight. It was hot and extremely tender to the touch. She doubted she could put weight on it. She'd have to find a healer before she even _considered_ venturing out of this town, but at the moment, she questioned her ability to do something as simple as getting up off the floor. Worse yet, she still hadn't the slightest idea where she was, let alone where she wanted to _be_. All she knew was under no circumstances did she wish to return home.

She shut her eyes and shifted again, but the movement sent another shock of searing pain shooting up her leg, and it was beyond clear that trying to go anywhere was a lost cause without some form of help. An idea struck her, and her head swiveled quickly to her stallion. She cursed aloud when he looked at her with watchful eyes and tried to take a step forward only to realize his reins were still held fast by the wooden pole. He whinnied mournfully at his mistress, as if trying to apologize for his inability to help her. Emma couldn't stop the soft chuckle that bubbled up from her throat. "It's okay, boy." She managed a small smile. "I'll get us out of here." _Somehow. _

She glanced around. The chicken coop was sturdy, but not long enough that she could brace herself on it for the length of her walk from this side of the barn to the horse, and unlike last night, she didn't think her foot was in any shape to be used without some kind of support, even for a few steps. If it wasn't already broken, she didn't want to take that chance.

Her stomach let out a loud gurgle of protest, and Emma groaned. _Food. _How was she supposed to feed herself if she couldn't even move? On a hunch, she inched just close enough to the coop to snake her hand between the bars and into the warm straw. To her relief, the nest was empty, but in a patch of slightly sodden hay lay two fresh brown eggs. Emma carefully curled her fingers around the small morsels. It wasn't much, and she didn't have a fire, but at least when she finally got out of here, she wouldn't go hungry.

_If I get out of here_, she added to herself, grimacing at the grim undertone of her thoughts. Just as she was slipping the eggs back between the bars and into her palms, the front door of the shed burst open.

Emma wrenched her hand back and sunk onto her makeshift cot with the eggs clutched securely in her hand as a gust of frigid wind whooshed through the old barn, making her gasp at the shocking cold. She craned her neck and peaked through the wooden posts of the coop, watching as a young girl in a long red cloak crept closer and closer to her hiding spot. She held her breath and stayed perfectly still as the girl ambled from one nest to another, stopping to pat the rooster on the head before collecting the remaining eggs from the hens. She didn't notice the empty nest, for which Emma thanked the gods. Maybe she wouldn't be caught after all.

Of course not.

At the sight of the intruder, Emilio's eyes widened and he raked his hoof across the rotting wood floor and whinnied, as if trying to warn her away from his mistress. _Fuck! _Emma cringed and sunk deeper into the straw as the red-cloaked girl spun on her heel and glanced around, only just then noticing the massive beast tied to the pole in the far left corner of her barn.

"Hey, boy." She raised her thin brows and inched closer, her steps quick and confident as she approached, her hazel eyes wide with curiosity. "What are you doing here? Were you the sound I heard outside my window last night?"

Emma held her breath as the girl reached a long, slender arm out toward her horse. She prayed he wouldn't balk. Emilio stumbled back a few steps. He bared his teeth and mist flared from his nostrils as he attempted to escape, only to be blocked by the barn wall.

"Easy, boy, easy," the girl cooed, stopping a few feet away from him. "I'm not going to hurt you." From the pocket of her cloak she pulled a ripe, red apple and offered it to the stallion. "I was saving this for later," she whispered, "but you can have it if you want."

Emma rolled her eyes and tried to quell a snort bubbling up in her chest. Apples were Emilio's favorite; he would be attached to this mysterious visitor in no time if things kept going on like this. A few seconds later, her theory was proven correct. She smiled thinly as she heard Emilio crunch down on the apple. She peeked between the bars and could just make out his thoughtful gaze as he looked the other girl over.

When the apple was demolished, he nuzzled his nose into her cape, clearly searching for more. Emma swallowed a chuckle and the younger girl's light laugh echoed through the drafty barn. She took his reins and gently guided him away so she wasn't knocked over. "I'm sorry, boy, I don't have any more." She held up her empty hands and shrugged her shoulders. "But maybe your owner does." She nodded toward the chicken coop and Emma visibly stiffened. _Crap! _Had she been found after all? "Where is she, huh?" the brunette cooed to the now calmer horse. "Where's your owner?"

Emilio whinnied again and tossed his mane, his eyes trained on her hiding spot. Emma winced. She shuffled around, but trying to stand was still a fruitless task. She slumped against the wall and waited in pensive silence for the stranger to find her.

Red watched the direction of the horse's head as he tossed his mane. Her eyes zeroed in on the chicken coop, and she crept closer, her brows furrowing in confusion as the sound of shuffling straw registered. "Hello?" she called out. "Is anyone here? They hay continued to move, and Red finally peered behind the coop, astonished to find a girl only a few years her senior nestled in the sodden pile of straw. Her knees were drawn to her chest, though not all the way. Red followed the outstretched leg with her gaze, wincing when she saw her intruder's swollen and battered ankle. it was twisted pretty badly, and Red knew she had to have at least sprained it severely within the past day or two, if not worse. Her once cream colored skirt was now caked with dirt and forest debris, her long blonde hair was tangled and matted, and the scratches peppering her arms and face were clearly new. She watched Red with curious green eyes, her mouth opening and closing several times, as if she wanted to come up with an excuse, but couldn't think of anything good enough. She drew her hands from her pockets and shoved two freshly laid brown eggs back over the coop wall and into Red's startled hands.

"I'm sorry." she muttered. "I can, I can go. Emilio, c'mere boy." She shifted again, and it occurred to Red that she was attempting to stand, so the girl placed the eggs back into the nest and rushed around the side of the coop before she could.

"Hey, hey," She gently pushed the stranger back down and gave her a wary smile. "It's okay. Don't try to get up."

She blushed, but allowed herself to sink back into the straw. "Sorry," she apologized.

"You've got a pretty nasty sprain there," Red said, and the other girl grimaced at the reminder.

"Yeah."

"How'd you get it?" The girl shrugged wordlessly and studied the straw. "Never mind." Red waved a dismissive hand before holding it out to her guest. "Everyone calls me Red." She smiled a little too brightly and waited until Emma hummed in response. "What's your name?"

Her head snapped up at that, and her eyes widened slightly before she managed to replace her expert poker face. "Um… Hay...nah?" she asked, spotting a bale of fresh hay in the corner. Then she mentally face-palmed herself. Haynah? Who was going to believe _that? _

Red stifled an incredulous laugh. "Haynah, really?"

Emma sighed and averted her gaze. "No," she admitted. "It's just that someone's looking for me, so…"

Red nodded. "You don't know or trust me yet," she finished, and Emma bit her lip in confirmation. "Hey, I, I get it. I just need something to call you."

Emma's gaze locked on hers, searching feverishly for some inkling of anger in her face that Emma was a wanted fugitive- or supposedly, hiding out in her barn. She found none, and her shoulders sagged slightly in relief. "Uh, Margaret. Oh, no." she wrinkled her nose in disgust and tried again. "Uh, Myra." Hmm, yes that was good. "Myra."

Red smiled. Well, then, Myra," she winked and Emma grinned back. "Come on." She offered Emma a hand up, draping her arm over her shoulder and allowing Emma to lean heavily on her as they limped over to the horse. She helped Emma into the seat and untied his reins, handing them up to her. Emma offered her a grateful smile as she clucked the stallion into action. Red frowned as she closed the shed door behind them, noticing Emma's horse was limping as well.

"Did he get hurt too?"

Emma could feel Emilio's awkward gate as he bounced beneath her, so she didn't have to ask twice to know what Red meant. "Yeah…" She trailed off and shifted a bit in her saddle. "There was a, erm, ambush," she fudged. "Emilio stumbled into a bramble patch as were were escaping. Startled him pretty bad, and he threw me. That's how-"

"Your ankle?" Emma nodded. "I see. Well, once we get you back to the cottage, I'm sure Granny can fix it right up. We know a pretty good vet too, so the two of you ought to be on your way by night fall."

Emma exhaled. "Thanks, Red."

"No problem." She shrugged nonchalantly. "I've just got to bring in some water before we go in. It'll just take a second." They trudged a little ways further down the hill in silence before Emma finally spoke.

"What was all that howling I heard last night?"

"It's Wolf's Time. Killer wolf out there. As big as a pony, but a lot more bloodthirsty. It's been stalking the area pretty regularly. It kills cattle and… Hang on." Emma gulped at that description. They stopped at the base of the well. Red wrapped her hands around the thick rope and begin backtracking to pull up the bucket. She sighed when it wouldn't give her any more slack, but the bucket was yet to be out of the well. "It sticks sometimes," she explained. "Could you just…?"

"Sure." Emma took the rope Red handed her and gave Emilio a cue to slowly back up. The horse grunted in protest, as backtracking was especially bad on his injured leg, but did as she asked. As they backed up, Emma turned her head to make sure nothing was blocking their path. She gasped and let out a strangled cry at the sight that greeted her. Her mouth dropped open in horror and she nearly lost her grip on the rope.

Red hauled the bucket up from the depths of the well, but where she expected to see a container full of crisp, clear water, there was instead a pool of bright, red blood. Trembling, Red called over her shoulder, "Look. Look at that. Mrya, look at the water." She waited a beat, frowning when Emma didn't respond.

"Myra? Myra, what is it? Myra?" Finally, Red swiveled around. She sucked in a sharp breath as it dawned on her why her new friend was suddenly so speechless. The entirety of last night's hunting party lay lifeless in the fresh snow. Their clothes were torn to shreds, barely hanging on their bodies. Weapons were strewn everywhere. The open wounds were pooled with blood, the crimson liquid standing out grotesquely against the pure ivory ground. "Oh, gods." She stumbled back a bit. Had the Wolf really done _that? _Sure, she'd heard about the massacres before, but it was rare that Granny let her out this early, so she'd never seen the results of one in person. Now she knew why.

"R… Red?" Emma rasped. "What is _that?" _

"The wolf," the other girl responded, still dazed. She turned to Emma and hiked up her skirt, forgetting the water completely as she sprinted down the hill.

"Wait!" Emma hollered. "Where are you going?"

"Come on," Red beckoned for horse and rider to follow. "We've gotta tell Granny!" Emma urged her stallion into a slow trot, and though it hurt them both, they took off as quickly as they could down the hill after Red.

* * *

A few hours later, after Granny had set Emma's foot and fashioned a splint along with some crutches for her out of some old wood, as well as sent for the town vet to check on her horse, the threesome headed inside the local tavern, where everyone was eagerly discussing what to do about the fearsome and frightening wolf after last night's disaster.

"The one thing I know," a young but clearly enraged man from the seats near the front of the hall declared with almost absolute certainty as he addressed the growing crowd, "is that last night, was the very _last_ massacre." He pumped his fist and the room erupted in cheers.

"Yeah!"

"The Wolf has taken too much from us already!" another piped up. "It's time we take something from it."

The bulky town blacksmith who Red recognized from the hunting party at her door last night stood up, his booming voice rising over the cheers. "You know, if I had stayed with that party for another ten minutes, I, too, would be among the dead." His blunt manner plunged the crowd into deafening silence. For what seemed like an eternity, no one spoke. Then, all at once, the protests started up again, louder and more rowdy than before. It seemed the townsfolk were now more determined than ever to kill the ravenous creature that stalked their homelands.

Emma bristled at Red's side, leaning heavily on her crutches. She couldn't imagine a wolf large enough to murder all of these men. She didn't _want to _imagine it.

The blacksmith continued once the shouts of the crowd died down. "And, when I think if I'd only doubled back, maybe…I could've caught it in the act. Maybe, I would've been able to slay the creature."

Granny stepped forward, a fire blazing in her eyes, disgust etched plainly as day on her weathered features as she sneered at the boastful pigs and their ignorant comments. "You would not," she countered, glaring at him.

"Widow Lucas," he scoffed in acknowledgement. Granny ignored his flippant tone, appealing to the rest of the crowd instead.

"This creature is more powerful than you can imagine. You wouldn't have a chance. Stay inside, hide your children, forget your livestock."

"You've said all this before," another man groaned, as if trying to brush off the elder Lucas's words of caution as nothing more than the ramblings of a delusional woman whose mind was long gone with age. Red gritted her teeth and resisted the urge to snarl at the little man, her hands fisted at her sides. Her nostrils flared and her hazel eyes hardened. She stepped forward, ready to give the arrogant coward a piece of her mind, but Emma grabbed her arm with her free hand, stopping her in her tracks before she could lunge for him.

_What are you doing? _she mouthed, her dagger-like gaze now trained on the blonde.

_Saving you, _Emma mouthed back. _The last thing you need is to attack that guy right now. Granny can handle them. _

Red huffed, but she knew Emma was right. Still, pricks like him had always made her blood boil much more quickly than they should have. The people in this town had no respect for her grandmother, even though she was the oldest and wisest of anyone who had lived in the Sherwood Forests. She had lived through the most Wolf's Times of anyone and they still treated her as if she were nothing more than an invalid. Red yanked her arm from Emma's firm grip and crossed them over her chest. Her lower lip stuck out and she was only half listening to the ongoing argument. She raised an eyebrow in the princess's direction and tipped her head ever so slightly toward the man in question as if to say _How did you know I wanted to slog him? _

Emma snorted and rolled her eyes, imitating the brunette's raised brow. _Because I wanted to do the same thing. _

A small smile curled up the corners of Red's lips and she nodded her thanks as Granny stepped forward to look the man straight in the eye.

"But, I haven't said how I know," she retorted evenly, leveling gazes with the accuser before straightening up and looking out across the tavern. "Nearly three score years ago, I was a child with six older brothers. Big as oak trees, all of them. And veterans of the Second Ogres War." She let that information sink in for a beat before she continued. "And my father, the biggest of them all. Come one Wolf's Time, he decided to go out and take on the wolf. A different wolf back then, of course, but just as fearsome. They went out there to protect me." She blinked a few times, losing herself in the memory. Emma noticed her eyes grew the slightest bit glassy, and her stomach crawled up into her throat. She swallowed hard and caught Red's eye. Emma had a bad feeling they both knew in their guts that this story wouldn't have a happy ending.

"I was supposed to be asleep," Granny went on, "but I crawled out on the roof to watch and lay down in the thatch. They had the beast surrounded, the seven of them, with spears all pointed in at it. And then it started. It was lunging – not at the men, but at the spears. Grabbing with its teeth, breaking the shafts. They stabbed it with the splintered end, but it didn't matter. It tore their throats so fast, that not a one of them had a chance to scream… Or pray… Or say goodbye." Her words were thick now, and Emma's heart ached for the old widow, but she swallowed back her sorrow and forged ahead, a new determination etched in her stern features. "When my father died, I tumbled from the roof, and I landed in the blood in front of the wolf. I felt its breath on my face." The room was deathly silent now, and Red's grandmother made eye contact with every member of that night's hunting party, holding their gaze for a few seconds each and daring them to defy her. "Then, it clamped its hot jaw on my arm, and I rolled away."

She pulled back her sleeve, and a collective gasp went up as the four long gashes on her arm were revealed. The scars were pink and wrinkled, clearly many years old, but the the sight still sent shivers up Emma's and Red's spines. Red in particular was shell-shocked. Her grandmother had faced the wolf and lived to tell the tale, but she'd never shown her the scars until right at this very moment. They looked like giant claw marks that could only have been made by a beast, and for the first time, Red had a sense of just how colossal this thing really was.

"It looked at me with eyes so black, they weren't even there. Then, it walked away. You ever see a wild animal just turn its back and walk away like you don't matter?" She looked around, but no one met her eye. "If this wolf is like that one, there is no defeating it. It's already won just by existing in our world. You don't kill it – you just hide." Then she turned and sauntered out of the tavern, with the girls trailing hastily after her.

* * *

"So, your Granny's kind of intense," Emma laughed from her spot across from Red on the younger girl's bed. She was trying to brush off the older Lucas's speech from earlier that day, but in truth, the story about the wolf had scared her witless. Her heart was still hammering in her chest just thinking about it.

"Yeah, a bit." She tried to laugh it off, but Emma tilted her head to the side and studied her, seeing right through her optimistic facade. Red's shoulders slumped in relief when she recognized the way Emma watched her. "I feel like a rat in a trap," she confessed.

Emma grinned slyly, noting the extra spark in the younger girl's eyes. She'd had that spark once too... With Neal. She longed to feel it again, but for now was happy to revel in her new friend's success. "Is this trap keeping you from…being with someone?" she asked, nudging the girl playfully.

Red giggled and whacked her hand away, but nodded nevertheless. "How did you know?"

Emma smirked. "I used to look like that once too."

Red blushed. "Like what?"

"Like I was in love."

The younger girl laughed. "Is it really that obvious?"

Emma shoved her shoulder. "Plain as day," she taunted.

Red sighed dreamily and her blush deepened. "His name's Peter. We've been friends forever, but… Now things are… Well, changing." Another peal of laughter bubbled out from between her lips and a dopey smile graced her face as she thought of her young shepherd.

"That must be nice," Emma said, suddenly very interested in the tweed sheets.

"Do you have someone?" Red asked, completely oblivious to the princess's inner turmoil as memories of Neal surfaced once more.

Emma jerked upright, shaking her head in contempt. "Oh, no." She waved the idea off with a flick of her wrist. "I'm not sure that's in my future. You're lucky, Red."

Red nodded. She had a strange feeling that there was more to Emma's story then she wanted to let on, but decided not to push it. "I know. And we're talking about going away together," she whispered, her voice full with excitement. Then she sighed. "But I don't even get any time with him. Granny's too afraid of the wolf to let me out alone. You saw what the wolf did. Sometimes, I wonder if she's right."

"Oh, she's right about the wolf," Emma assured her as this morning's gruesome findings seared at the depths of her mind. Red's shoulders slumped in defeat, but Emma couldn't help the ghost of a smile that appeared on her lips as she continued. "But, she's wrong to use it to keep you from love."

"You think that's what she's doing?" Red asked, aghast at the very thought. "Using the Wolf as an excuse to keep me cooped up like some prisoner?"

Emma winced at her friend's furious tone. "It … could be," she admitted, only just now realizing how stupid she had been to open this particular can of worms.

"Well then, let's kill the wolf," Red said, a new sense of courage coloring her words.

"What?" Emma's gaze snapped up and she held her hands out in surrender. "Wait a minute, hang on. I never said-"

"Myra, come _on_!" Red pleaded, grabbing Emma's hands in hers. "We'd be heroes."

Emma gaped at her "Red, _teams_ of trained hunters have been killed. What makes you think …" She trailed off. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"But they go at night when it's got the advantage," Red pointed out. "If we went now, we could find it slumbering in its den and kill it in its sleep. _Come on_."

Emma sighed and twirled the coarse fabric of the spare dress Red has given her beneath her fingers. "Red, I don't know."

"I'm going," she asserted, standing up from the bed. "With or without you. But, you're right – I can't let her keep me trapped forever."

Red waited for a verdict as Emma cringed and exhaled. The sleeping giant had awoken and there was no way to turn back. She had planted this idea Red's head- she couldn't let her go through with it alone. "All right," she relented, reaching for her crutches and hopping off of the bed to stand next to the brunette. "Let's go hunt the wolf."


	6. Red Handed Part 2

**A/N: Here's chapter 6 lovelies! After this they finally meet! Thanks to Charlotte Ashmore for betaing!**

**Disclaimer: Nothing familiar is mine!**

**6**

**Red Handed Part 2**

"What about that one?" Emma asked, squinting at yet another print in the fresh snow from atop the proud, jet-black mare that Granny had graciously loaned Emma under the guise that the girls were headed into town to find some supplies for Emma's journey that night. They couldn't very well admit to hunting the wolf, but Emma couldn't travel far on her injured leg and the vet had recommended Emilio rest his sprained leg for as long as he could. Thus, as far as Red's grandmother knew, they were warm and cozy in the Sherwood Tavern, _not _trudging through the frigid snow in search of a monstrous beast.

Wind whipped through Emma's cloak and she shivered, gritting her teeth to keep them from chattering. Emma groaned. _What _was she thinking, letting Red talk her into such a disaster-ridden wild goose chase? This thing was obviously smart if it knew how to disarm an army of hunters with one swipe. It wasn't going to roam around in broad daylight near the very town that threatened to murder it! She sighed as Red bent down and inspected the track, frowning up at the blonde with a sharp shake of her head.

"That's a dog. See how small that is? Don't look where the snow's drifted – it covers tracks."

Emma sighed and clucked her horse into action, trudging a few paces in the opposite direction. How long were they going to keep this up? It would be dark soon, and she had no desire to meet this beast when it was awake. Besides, the temperature was dropping by the hour and she could scarcely feel her hands, despite the thick fleece-lined gloves she wore, and every breath she took released a think puff of white smoke from her swollen blue lips. "Red, come on. This is pointless and I'm freezing. Let's just-" Her horse, Mysty, whinnied and she glanced down, spotting another fresh shape in the powder. "Hey. Over here."

"You found something?" Red hurried over to meet her, but when she caught sight of where the other girl was pointing, she only snorted and attempted to choke back a laugh. "That…is a rabbit," she informed the princess, and Emma's cheeks flushed. "What we're looking for will be huge. Like a dog print, but bigger. Like, eight inches across with really long claws."

Emma mustered an uncomfortable laugh and they forged ahead as she tried to swallow her embarrassment.

A little further into the underbrush, Mysty disturbed the easy yet tense silence that had settled between them. She let out a panicked neigh and vaulted back on her hind legs. Emma gasped, but managed to steady her just before she tumbled into the fresh snow. "Easy girl," she soothed. "What is it?"

She skimmed the tree -line ahead, scanning the wintry landscape for anything out of the ordinary that could have spooked the usually calm mare. Nothing caught her attention until Mysty snorted and tossed her mane, chomping on her bit and tugging relentlessly at the reigns until Emma lurched forward and slumped over her neck. "What's gotten into you?"

"Myra, are you alright?"

Emma grunted and hauled herself up in the saddle. "Yeah, I'm f-" The last word died in her throat as she noticed the trail of massive paw prints littering the ground. One toe was as least the size of her fist, and the trail continued far into the trees. The wolf. "R...Red?" she called, her voice shaking in spite of herself. "You might wanna see this."

Red's brow furrowed as she went to Emma's side. "What is it?"

The blonde swallowed. "When you said 'huge'," she gestured to the mark in the snow with a trembling finger, "is that what you meant?"

Red's eyes widened and she squatted to trace the outline of the print with her index finger, her breath catching. "Yes." She traced the massive paw and followed the trail off to the left with her eyes. "And those." She caught her lip between her teeth and shared a worried glance with the princess as she stood. "Oh, my gods. How big is this thing?"

Emma couldn't take her eyes off the gargantuan print. She'd never seen anything whose tracks were so large. Her heart thundered even harder against her chest when she noticed the distance front on indent to the next. The pounding in her ears began to drown out all other sound. "This was one stride? From here… To there?" She shook her head, scarcely believing such a preposterous statement even though the evidence was right there in black and white.

Red sucked in a frigid breath and squared her shoulders. The idea terrified her, but she couldn't focus on logic now. She wanted her life back, and to have it, they _had _to kill this thing- before it killed them. She exhaled a puff of frost and plunged deeper into the trees before she could lose her nerve. "Come on – over there. Through the brush, and off towards the hill."

Emma quirked a brow as she noticed her friend's demeanor shift. She herself was quaking in her boots, but Red didn't show the slightest hint of fear as she charged ahead. "You're good at this."

Red felt the smallest of smiles curl at her lips as she set her features. "When there's something I want, I'm good at tracking it down."

Now that, Emma had no trouble believing.

* * *

As they trudged on through the forest, Emma completely lost all feeling in her fingers and toes. She was now more than ever convinced that they were in way over their heads, but as many times as she tried to convince Red to cease the search and retreat to the safety of the cottage, the younger girl only grew that much more determined to press onward. She sighed and attempted to ignore her rolling stomach as they scoured the wet snow for more tracks. Her horse pawned at the ground and wouldn't stand still, but Emma did her best to keep Mysty under control. "Here's another one."

Red turned and squinted at the print. "Right. And then here's…" Red bent down, expecting to see another massive paw and instead finding something that appeared almost… human. She bit down on her lower lip and sucked in a long breath. What kind of beast _was_ this?

"What?" Emma asked, startling the younger brunette from her trance. She didn't like the way Red was eyeing the newest print. The pensive look in her eyes was peppered with fear and made the princess almost as uneasy as her horse.

"This print…" she muttered, "it looks like it's… Half-wolf and half… boot. See?"

Emma stared at her, gulping in another gasp of air as her gaze flicked back and forth between her friend and the ground. Had she heard her correctly? "But… Wolves don't wear boots."

Red nodded, her brown eyes wide. "No, they don't."

Emma urged her horse forward, following the footprints as they dissipated down the hill, not quite believing what she was seeing. With each track, the prints were closer and closer together, and with each step they appeared less beastly and a little more… She shook her head. No, that was impossible. Wasn't it? "It just continues... like it was… a man?"

"Like it was… a man… and a wolf," Red confirmed as she came up beside the horse. Emma gaped at the sight. A werewolf? Were they really dealing with a mythical creature that only existed in fairy tales?

"Red …That's. …That's impossible."

"Maybe not. Wolf's Time is once a month on the full moon. There's a story I heard once about a creature like this. The wolf… it's almost like a spirit. It lives inside its victim and uses their body as a… host of sorts. I always thought it was only a legend but… now…"

Emma shivered. What Red was insinuating…To have a monster lurking inside her and she might not even know it? The idea was nothing short of terrifying. Catching her lip between her teeth as she tried to chase the thoughts away as she scanned the horizon for more footprints, only to realize she recognized the landscape surrounding them. "Hey. Aren't we awfully close to the cottage?"

Red's head snapped up. Emma was right. The footprints continued down the hill and through the opening of the trees… Right up to the foot of Red's window. The same window Peter had come to the night before.

Red gritted her teeth. Could it… No, that was impossible. Peter wasn't the wolf. He couldn't be. _Right_? And yet, it was the only explanation that made even a lick of sense.

The wolf only emerged at night. Few thought to search for it in broad daylight, not wanting to antagonize the creature any more than necessary. Those that did claimed the wolf was nowhere to be found. They said it had all but disappeared into thin air. Everyone in town thought they were crazy, but what if they were right? What if no one could ever find the wolf's den because it didn't _have _a den?

Red's stomach clenched. What were they dealing with? Was the wolf really an innocent man? Or was it a beast?

"Red?" Emma called. Her posture had tensed and she seemed frozen in place. She followed her friend's gaze and gulped. Her emerald eyes widened in recognition. She opened and closed her mouth several times, shocked into silence. Finally, she grasped Red's clammy hand in her own and managed to rasp out, "Who's gone to your window, Red?" Is it … Is it Peter?"

The brunette remained silent, barely breathing as she looked out upon her quaint cottage, now tainted with bloodstained tracks. Emma's gut crawled up her throat. Her lack of response was all the answer she needed.

_Fuck! _she thought, tightening her grip on the younger girl's hand. "Red, has he been at your window?"

Red nodded. "L-Last night – before the killings. And he never joined the guys to hunt the wolf." She turned, her hazel eyes pleading, _begging, _Emma to take away the terrifying discovery come to light and proclaim it nothing more than an obsessive dream.

Emma swallowed. The desperation in Red's eyes tugged fiercely at her heartstrings. She wanted so badly to ease her friend's fear, but she knew lying wouldn't help anyone. Instead, she schooled her features and did her best to put on a brave face. "Don't worry, Red, I'm sure he wouldn't have killed them."

"_He_ wouldn't," she agreed. "But when the wolf takes over…" Her words trembled and her eyes were moist and glassy as she blinked back angry tears.

"What about tonight's hunting party?" Emma asked, cringing as the words left her mouth. She hated to say it, but the evidence was piling up. If Peter really was the wolf, then they had to find a way to save him. And fast.

"They're going to kill him," Red announced, her tone leaving no room for arguments. "Or he's going to kill them." She clenched her fists at her sides and bared her teeth. Her eyes flashed with the light of a harsh fire.

Emma shook her head, Red's abrupt change in demeanor taking her aback. In five seconds flat, she looked ready to rip anyone – out to harm her boyfriend – to shreds. "It doesn't have to be that way."

"What can we do?" It came out as more of a low growl than a question.

"Tell him. If he doesn't know, tell him. Stop him. If he'll listen to anyone, if he'll believe anyone, it's you." She smiled and her shoulders sagged in relief as some of the murderous light retracted from Red's gaze.

The brunette bit her lip and chewed, her eyes the size of saucers, the smallest spark of hope visible within. "You…. You think I can save him?"

Emma's grin grew and she squeezed the brunette's hand. "I think you can save everyone."

* * *

When Emma heard the door behind her creak on its ancient hinges, she tensed involuntarily under Red's cape, its crimson fabric coarse and scratchy against her skin as adrenaline pulsed through her veins. Firelight danced along the cabin walls, illuminating the blood-red camouflage even brighter against the bland, beige sheets. She fisted the fabric of her dress in her hands, pressing her teeth down so hard against the plump pink flush of her lip in order to remain silent that it turned almost white. She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed to whomever would listen that simply the sight of her granddaughter's distinct cloak protruding from the covers would be enough to pacify Widow Lucas.

No such luck.

"Where's Myra?" she demanded, shuffling toward the large bed. Emma sucked in her breath and pulled the cape's hood further over her face as Granny loomed closer.

_Fuck. _she seethed. _Fuck, fuck, fuck! _What in seven hells was she supposed to do now?

"Come on, girl – wake up. We best bar the door. If she's not back by now, she'll have to take her chances." Her withered hand reached out and tugged at the thick fabric. Emma shrugged to stay on her side as her weight shifted with the movement of Red's grandmother's arm. Damn, that woman was stronger than she looked!

Emma lost the battle and flopped on her back. The hood slipped from her head, exposing her long tangled tendrils of white blonde hair and bright green eyes. Granny vaulted back with a startled gasp.

"Don't worry about, Red," she said giving up the guise entirely. "She's in no danger."

Granny shook her head, her expression aghast. "What have you done?" she scolded, glancing frantically around the room in hopes that Red might come waltzing back in that very moment. Emma rushed to push herself into a sitting position, wincing as the moment sent a sharp pain up her ankle. She'd nearly forgotten her injured leg until just that second. One glance at the frazzled elder Lucas though, and she rushed to reassure her. "Relax, Red is fine. She's… Well, this is a little hard to explain."

"Where. Is she?" Granny hissed cutting her off.

Emma sighed, her shoulders sagging under the cloak. "She's… Well, she's with Peter." Granny's eyes flashed and she rushed ahead. "And I know that you don't like him, but that's really beside the point."

The elder Lucas's mouth dropped open at that, and she reeled backward. Oh, Gods, what had they done? "You stupid, careless, ridiculous girl!" She punctuated every word, glaring daggers at the blonde.

"No," Emma sputtered, refuting Granny's rant with a single word. Her hands curled into fists. She leveled her gaze on the older woman, hoping beyond hope she could make her understand. No one deserved to be kept from the ones they loved, reasons, imperfections, or past misdeeds be damned. "You don't understand. Peter isn't…" She exhaled, unsure exactly how to say this without sounding absolutely insane. Which, she realized as she shifted under the other woman's hardened, unwavering gaze, maybe she was. "This is going to be difficult to accept," she conceded, "but you just have to trust me…" She sighed and dropped her eyes for an instant before looking up once more. "He's the wolf."

Emma wasn't sure what she expected from the elder Lucas as such preposterous sounding information came tumbling from her mouth, but it certainly wasn't the brief flicker of understanding that crossed her features before horror and realization quickly replaced it.

"You think Peter is the wolf?" she breathed, never blinking as her eyes met Emma's. The princess nodded. Gods, this was even worse than she imagined.

"Yes. I know it sounds ridiculous but-"

Granny shook her head vigorously. "No. No it doesn't. Just… Where are they now?"

Emma raised an eyebrow. She _didn't _think they were crazy? She frowned and studied the elder Lucas with narrowed eyes. What did she know that Emma didn't?

"Well?" Granny pressed.

"They're in the forest..." Granny slapped the bed and cursed under her breath.

"They're _outside_? In the moonlight? Oh, Gods."

"Yes," Emma repeated. "It's okay, though. He won't hurt her. She's got him tied up."

"He's tied up?" she asked, her tone frantic. Emma nodded. What was so bad about that? If Peter was tied up, then he couldn't hurt anyone, right?"

"Ye-"

"Oh, that poor boy!" Without another word, she turned and rushed out the door. Emma shot of the bed, right on her heels.

"Wait!" she panted. "Where are we going?"

* * *

"Chains," Red breathed, her words wavering at the sight of the heavy metal loops dangling from his calloused hand, their metallic clang haunting the previously silent woods as they brushed together. Peter locked his piercing blue eyes with hers and nodded ever so slightly. Red exhaled, her shoulders sagging in an odd sense of relief when she caught the flash of panic that briefly crossed his otherwise emotionless expression. He didn't want her to see it, but he was afraid too. Just as much, if not immensely more so, as she was for him. His hand trembled as he grasped the heavy restraints, and he wouldn't meet her eyes for more than a brief second.

"Just in case you're right." His voice was scratchy and cautious. "I'll show you how to rig it up so that I can't get out. And then… Then you need to get away from me."

Red clasped his free hand and shook her head vigorously, chocolate curls swinging in the night wind. "No," she insisted, meeting his determined gaze with one of her own. "I'm staying with you. I'll stay with you all night, and for all the nights to come."

"You'd do that for me?" he asked, blinking incredulously.

She nodded, catching her bottom lip between her teeth. "I'd do anything for you."

He grinned that quirky, lopsided grin of his that never failed to make her knees go weak, even after over a year of secret rendezvous'. She closed her eyes and melted into his touch as he gently reached forward to brush a long lock from her face, leaving his hand resting behind her head. He pulled her forward, and she couldn't resist. She didn't _want _to resist. He closed the distance between them until his lips finally molded to hers.

A growl of pleasure escaped her throat as she wrapped her arms around his neck. For the briefest of moments, all of her worries washed away as she relished in the simple pleasure of his lips against her own. She started to suck greedily, moaning in blissfully. All at once, Peter sprang backwards, his cheeks flushed with desire in the slowly increasing light of the pale moon.

"Peter!" she hissed, trying for a convincing glare in spite of the jubilant heat now pooling in the pit of her stomach.

"I… I'm sorry Red. We can't. Not now. It's getting darker by the minute and…." He went over and picked up the chains, leaving the unfinished sentence to linger in the air as he crossed back to the tree. "You have to chain me up." He thrust the apparatus at her. "Now. And then you have to get out of here."

Red huffed, but obediently trudged back to the tree. "Fine, I'll tie you up. But I'm _not _going anywhere."

"Red-"

"No!" she roared, making the shepherd boy jump. "I'm not leaving you- Ahhh!" The sensual warmth that was slowly beginning to dissipate came rushing back with a vengeance. But unlike before, it wasn't filled with the passion of love or the wanton from before. This fire was _ravenous. _It licked at her veins, making her scream in agony as her bones transformed into liquid lava.

"Red? Red, what is it? Red? Oh, Gods. Red!"

Peter's voice faded into nothingness as she sank to her knees, unable to process anything save the searing pain tearing at her skull, and the unmistakable _hunger _clawing at her gut. The world tilted on its axis and her eyes flashed. For an instant, everything was gold. A guttural growl bubbled free from somewhere around her, but she couldn't tell where. The last memory that entered her mind before it all went black was Peter's terror-stricken face as he cried out her name and struggled to twist himself free of the chains.

* * *

"That story you told…" Emma gasped, realization cutting her like a dagger as she trudged just behind Granny on top of her borrowed horse through the underbrush.

"That was her grandfather," Granny confirmed with a shake of her head so imperceptible Emma almost missed it in the dim lantern-light. "He marked me that night. Then came back, found me, turned me."

"Turned you…" _Oh, Fuck. "_So… You're…?" She shook her head. It was too much to process at once. One wolf-girl, she could handle, but generations of them? Emma shivered. _That _was a terrifying thought.

Wait a second, if Granny was a wolf too, then… "Granny? How are you tracking her?"

"By smell. I still have that, even though the rest of it has faded away. Gods, I was a fool to think I could keep this from her. I am a fool and I have cost so many lives."

Emma winced. Yes, she was a fool; she had to agree with that. But, much like Snow for her, the blonde could tell that Red's grandmother was only trying to do what was best.

_For Red, or for herself? _A little voice questioned. Emma pushed it away and cautiously placed a hand on Granny's shoulder. "But you didn't mean to. You were trying to protect her."

"Was I?" the widow retorted.

They rounded a corner, revealing a snow-covered clearing. Peter was backed against a giant tree, holding his hands out in surrender and miserably failing to disguise his fear of the massive, copper skinned wolf stalking towards him with her teeth bared. An earth-shattering snarl echoed through the clear night.

"Oh, Gods…" Emma shared a look with the elder Lucas. "Is that…?"

"Yes." She handed the brass lantern up to the blonde, who grasped it with trembling hands, and swung her crossbow over her shoulder.

"But, how are we supposed to…?" She let the question hang in empty air. There was no way they could take Red down. Not like that. She was much too fearsome, and even from here, Emma could see her senses were sharp as nails.

Granny nodded at the bow in her hand. "Here – a silver-tipped arrow _will_ drop her."

"But-"

"Shh!" Granny seethed. "Follow me. We're approaching from downwind, so we have a chance.

The two of them slowly edged their way down the incline. With baited breath, Emma watched as Red's grandmother positioned the weapon and prepared to shoot. Mysty stepped on a twig, disguised in the fresh snow, and Emma grimaced as every muscle of the wolf's body tensed. She soared into the air, aiming straight for the shepherd boy, who cried out in a last ditch effort to appeal to the beast.

The blonde squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to witness the slaughter she was sure was about to ensue. A yell of agony whooshed through the trees, but instead of crunching bones and savage devouring noises to follow, there was only a yelp.

Slowly, Emma turned back to the scene, Relief flooded through her when she noticed Red's body lain down in the snow and Peter crumpled on his knees by the great oak, clutching his chest. Crimson blood stained the pure snow, and a gash so long it ran from the top of his shoulder through his shirt and down his thigh. The claw marks had come frightfully close to his heart, but thank the gods, he was alive.

"Cloak!" Granny's demand jerked Emma back to reality. She grasped the fabric, now much too similar to the bright liquid staining the ground for her liking, from where it was draped across her horse's rump and tossed it down. Widow Lucas in turn flung it over Red.

When Red came to, she was up to her knees in snow so cold she could barely feel them. She didn't even have a chance to fully register her surroundings before Granny gripped her arm, almost cutting of the blood supply in the process, and hauled her to her feet.

"Get up, girl. Get ready to run."

"Run? Run where? Granny, what's going on?" She locked eyes with her grandmother, whose lips were sealed in grim determination.

"No time to explain. Don't you hear them?"

"Them? Them wh-" But then, she did hear them. The distant sounds of the hunting party lumbering through the forest- And heading straight towards the clearing. What happened? What were they doing here? Peter was tied up! There shouldn't _be _any wolf to hunt!

"Come on, Red. We have to go." Emma chanced a glance behind her and thrust her hand down, offering Red a leg up.

Red stumbled back, confusion and fear battling for supremacy as her wild eyes swung back and forth between her grandmother and the fugitive princess. "Go? I don't understand. Where are we going?"

Emma shook her golden curls and sighed in frustration. They didn't have time for this. "To a place Granny told me about. She thinks you'll be safe there. And I can finally get the answers I need."

"Safe? Answers?" She grabbed hold of her grandmother's cloak, suddenly looking much younger than her fifteen years. "Granny, what does she mean?"

Granny sighed and gently unclenched her granddaughter's hands from their death grip on the thick fleece. "Myra will explain everything," she promised. "But right now, you _have _to go."

Red's eyes grew even wider as the hunting party closed in. Even Emma could hear them now. She looked at the old widow desperately, knowing they didn't have much time. If there was any hope of escape, they had to leave _now. _

"No!" Red's gaze was frantic and her voice rose with her temper as she struggled to break free of the firm hold her grandmother had on her wrists. "I don't want to go like this."

"Red," the elder Lucas begged. "_Please. _You have to-"

The young brunette finally wrenched away from the old widow, fixing her with a deathly glare despite the moisture poised just at the edge of her eyes. "What's happened?" she demanded. "Where's Peter?"

Emma sighed and finally made eye contact with Red. "He wasn't the wolf," she confessed, cringing as the words left her mouth. Red simply gawked at her in stunned disbelief.

"Gr…Granny?"

Widow Lucas sighed and squeezed her granddaughter's hand. "I was wrong to keep it from you. But, now, you have to go." She released her wrist and pushed the younger girl toward Emma and her horse. "Red," she pleaded. "Go."

Red stumbled back, the horrid truth washing over her in one massive, soul-crushing wave. Her chest rose and fell more rapidly with each passing second, and she would have fainted if Granny hadn't caught her. Dark spots swam before her eyes, and the world around her faded into a blur of colors and nonsensical sounds.

"It's me?" she choked out. "Oh, gods, it's… It's me." A sob ripped free from her throat followed by several more as she clung to her grandmother.

Granny patted her back, but she didn't have time to offer proper comfort, instead shoving her toward Emma's steed once more. "Red, go."

"No. No, I don't want to go like this," she sniveled as Emma and Granny forced her atop the horse's back.

"You have to."

"No. No, no, no…Oh, gods! Peter! Did I… Granny, did I…?" She couldn't bear to finish the thought.

"R...Red, I'm f- fine." The voice was soft and pained, barely even a whisper, but it was his.

"P…Peter?" She whimpered, swiveling her head in the direction of the big oak, a strangled scream escaping the depths of her throat when she caught sight of her boyfriend slumped against its base. "Peter!" She lurched forward to jump off the horse, but Emma clutched her arm just in time, holding her back.

"Red, he'll be fine! Granny will take care of him. We have to go _now_!"

"But-"

"Myra, there's no time," Granny urged. The hunting party was right behind them. They _had _to leave.

Emma nodded. "I know. I'll get her out of here. Come on, Mysty! Yahh!"

She dug her heels into the horse's flanks. The mare reared and shot off into the trees with a triumphant whinny.

Red's last glimpse of her grandmother was a lurry but determined picture as she hobbled over to the oak to shield Peter from the wrath of the oncoming wolf hunters. Then she turned and buried her face in Emma's shoulder, willing herself to melt into the shadows, along with all her other unknown ghosts.


	7. Moments in the Woods

**A/N: I'm ****soo in****credibly sorry for the long wait you guys! If you're still with me, THANK YOU! I was busy finishing up another WIP that is now complete! Here's an extra LONG chapter to make up for the wait (I hope!) Also, I don't like to ramble too much in my a/ns, but I have 2 fairly important pieces of news. **

**1\. From October 1 to December 25****th****, I'm hosting a SwanQueen Secret Santa over on tumblr! It's just like Rumbelle Xmas In July and Rumbelle Secret Santa, but for Evil Regals and Swens instead. You can make art, write fics, make videos, memes, anything you want. It has to be SQ but it can be platonic or romantic. For more info, check out the link under the NEWS section of my profile!**

**2\. I'm going back to school on Monday, and in addition to classes, I have a 9-week internship! Thus, my real life is about to get super hectic, so I have no clue when I'll be able to post next. I just want to let all my wonderful readers know that I HAVE NOT and WILL NOT abandon this story, but it may be a bit between chapters. Thank you all SO MUCH for sticking with me! I love you all! Shout out to my beta, Charlotte Ashmore!**

**Disclaimer: Nothing is mine!**

**7**

**Moments in the Woods**

Regina slammed the door to her room and sank back against the cool wood. She slid down to the floor and wrapped her arms about her knees. Every gulp of oxygen burned. She tried to steady the rapid pounding of her heart against her chest, but no matter what, her mind wouldn't stop spinning. The walls closed in around her. She feared the pressure would smother her if she sat still a second longer. Jumping up despite her muscle's protests the minute she shifted her weight, she paced the length of the plush carpet. Her hands balled into fists, furling and unfurling themselves almost on their own as her rational mind continued to spiral out of control.

"How could he do that to me?" she screamed to no one in particular. "To _us_! He could have saved her, and instead he just…" A tortured sob ripped free from somewhere deep in her throat, and finally, she couldn't hold it in any longer. She sank down on her bed and buried her face in her skirt, her long dark locks shielding her face as hot, angry tears began to trickle from her eyes. They slipped past her lashes and dropped onto the light mesh fabric. She let out a frustrated scream and wiped furiously at her pale cheeks, not understanding why in seven hells she would be crying at a time like this. Rumpelstiltskin had abandoned her. He had left her mother to rot as the darkness ate away at her heart. He left her only daughter to suffer the consequences for nineteen torturous years only to magically reappear the day before her wedding in an attempt to play fairy fucking godmother and soothe his guilty conscience.

But she should be a torrid, enraged stag with all the pent up anger and hurt pumping through her veins after years of emotional and physical abuse, not a withering, weak mess who was basically falling apart in the middle of her room in a strange castle. She silently cursed herself forever being stupid enough to take his deal in the first place. If there was one thing she'd learned from her mother, it was that if something sounded too good to be true, it usually was. Now more than ever, Regina wished that just once, she had proven her mother wrong.

Hours passed and Regina scarcely moved, only leaving her room to use the bathroom when she was certain no one was around. Winter had tried several times to reason with the girl and shed some much-needed light on the situation, but Regina didn't want to hear it. The enchantress became so persistent in her methods as the day wore on, that Regina finally had to cover her mirror with the thick comforter that lay across her bed, for fear she would go mad from the sorceress's earsplitting chatter.

Some time later, a sharp knock on her door startled the former princess from her thoughts. "Regina, dearie, are you in there?" Rumple called.

She stiffened at the sound, finally ceasing her incessant pacing.

Her hand hovered uncertainly over the gleaming brass knob. Of course, she would have to face him sometime; she couldn't very well hole herself up in her room for the rest of eternity. The solitude was already getting to her, and every so often her stomach would emit a loud gurgle of protest, an increasingly annoying reminder that she had skipped both lunch and dinner that day to avoid facing her demons.

Though what he had done was horrible, and she was nowhere near ready to forgive him, hearing his voice on the other side of the door was momentarily comforting. She didn't wish to bottle up her anger so it manifested into a never-ending grudge. That was a virtue with which her mother was quite skilled, and as angry as she was, Regina would still do everything in her power to keep from becoming the doppelganger of such a soulless, heartless woman whose only love was her own power.

She reached out and clasped her hand around the knob, the cool metal a welcome relief to her warm skin. She twisted it slowly, only seconds away from inching it open- just enough to stick her head out and assure him that yes, she was in fact, still alive- but not to provide any indication that she wanted to talk. Then one more sentence slipped from between his pale, thin lips and sent her temper skyrocketing once more.

"Please," he begged. "I know you're angry, and I don't blame you. But please, just open the door and let me explain."

_Explain?! _She fumed silently, clasping the handle so hard it nearly broke off in her palm. _Like there's some __reasonable_ _explanation__behind abandoning my mother and leaving me to suffer all these years? _

She thrust open the door, every word of outrage teetering on the tip of her tongue. Yet when she saw Rumpelstiltskin standing there, the scaly creases of his face dotted with remorse, unveiled regret in his large amber eyes, the syllables she'd waited for so many years to say refused to form and move past her lips. "You abandoned us," she whispered instead, tears for what could have been slipping past her long ebony lashes.  
Rumple's face fell, his gaze lowering to the floor as the fingers of his right hand twitched and rubbed against his thumb. "I know. Regina, I'm sorry, dearie, truly I am. But you have to understand I had no choice. Baelfire -"

She found she couldn't look at him just then, pushing past him and fleeing down the corridor towards the marble stairs which would lead to the foyer and her freedom from a prison of her own making. She ran despite his pleas for her to come back, to let him explain.

Seeing that there was no hope of Regina returning of her own free will at the moment as the front door to the castle slammed with such ferocity that it nearly shattered each and every window, the old mage turned to the stone griffins lining the wall and whistled shrilly. Arias bounded off her plinth and skidded to a halt at his side. His long fingered hand came to rest atop her head as he petted her for a moment when she nuzzled against his leg, giving himself time to gather his thoughts. "Go after her, Arias. Watch her, protect her, and ... do NOT allow yourself to be seen. Don't allow her to come to harm." The griffin nodded its big, feathery head before promptly spreading its wide golden wings and swooping down the stairs. Rumple watched until the gargantuan creature looked no bigger than a thimble as she flew off into the night. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath before doing something he never thought he would ever do again. He prayed.

_Regina, dearie, please come home to me safely. _He opened his eyes and cast a wistful, longing glance down the stairs and out into the snowy night where the young girl had vanished. He had already lost her once. He prayed he wasn't about to do so again.

* * *

When Emma couldn't go any farther, she pulled to a stop along a nearby stream and slid off of Mysty's back. She supported herself on a tree trunk so as not to put too much weight on her injured foot as she tied off the reins to its base while the horse drank. Her foot felt much better since Granny had bandaged it yesterday, but she didn't want to risk making the injury worse. She unclipped the saddlebag from it's seat and plucked an apple they'd picked earlier that day from the sack, watching Red with careful, cautious eyes the whole time, and wishing she had something convincing to say to make things right. Red hadn't stopped crying since they'd cantered away from the clearing. Sometimes it would taper off into mere whimpers, and Emma would attempt to offer a kind word, or squeeze her hand in a silent show of support, but even something as simple as a whispered "It wasn't your fault," would set her off again.

At this point, her friend was at an utter loss. All she knew was that she'd do _anything _to see the young girl's eyes lose just a bit of the haunted air, the sorrow, the soul-crushing _guilt _they'd held ever since they left her childhood home.

The younger girl followed suit in climbing down from their large mount, but Emma's brows scrunched together in confusion when she headed straight for the tree and struggled to unfasten the expertly tied knot around the trunk.

"Red…? Red, what are you doing?"

"I'm going back," she said without looking up. Her features had been schooled into an impenetrable mask. She barely breathed or blinked as her nimble fingers threaded the rope in and out. Her lips set in a grim line.

"_What_? But you can't! They'll kill you!"

"Let them," Red snorted bitterly. "I don't deserve to live after everything I did. Let them kill me, and they'll be rid of the wolf forever."

For a moment, Emma could only gape at her. She knew that night had done a number on her, but all things considered, she'd been holding up rather well. Then again, perhaps endlessly crying as they galloped along wasn't really holding up as much as it was being too emotionally overwhelmed to do anything but surrender to her tears. Still, now that she had calmed down enough to talk, did Red really think she deserved to die?

By the stoic look on her face, it seemed she did. Emma had seen and had that look herself enough times to know what it meant. She thought turning herself in was the only way to assuage her guilt, but no matter what, Emma wasn't going to let that happen.

_"__Protect her, Emma. Keep her safe for me."_ Granny's words echoed in the back of her mind. She gently clasped her hand around Red's and turned the girl to face her.

"Mrya, what are you doing?" Red screeched. "I have to go back."

"No," Emma said. "You don't. You aren't going anywhere except with me."

"Oh, really?" Red crossed her arms. "Are you going to make me?"

Emma sighed and bit into her apple. She knew this wasn't going to be easy, but no one was more stubborn than her. She was perfectly prepared to hold Red here all night if that's what it took to get her to see sense. "No," she said, leveling her gaze on the younger brunette. "I won't make you."

Red smirked. "I didn't think so."

"But Granny would."

Red froze, but only momentarily before she scoffed. "Granny isn't here."

"True, but don't you think she would find out if you went back to the village and tried to turn yourself in?" The other girl stiffened under her cloak, catching her lip between her teeth. "Come on, Red. You know she wouldn't let you do that. She loves you too much."

Red's nostrils flared as she whirled on her friend, her eyes bright with fury and moist with fresh tears even as hard as she tried to keep them at bay. "Granny doesn't love me," she spat. "If she loved me, she would have told me the truth."

"It wasn't that simple, you know that."

"Why not?" If I'd known the truth, maybe I could have… I don't know… trained, somehow. Maybe I could have found a way not to become a merciless killer. I'm a monster, Myra, and it's all her fault. She didn't give me any choice."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Really? You really think keeping something like this from you, her only granddaughter, was _easy_ for her?"

"It sure seemed like it." Red mumbled. "Every time I noticed something odd about myself, like when I could smell something being cooked at the inn halfway across town, or how I could hear things all the way out in the barn at the dead of night even if it was just a chicken turning around in her nest, I would ask her if there was something wrong with me. And you know what she said? Nothing. She never gave me one single straight answer. If she couldn't trust me with the truth, how can I trust her, or you, to keep me safe?"

"Let me ask you something, Red. Why do you think she made you wear that cloak you hate so much every night?"

Red looked down guiltily and fingered the course velvet fabric of her thick crimson cape. For years it had felt like prison, just one more thing that Granny used to keep her from having any real life of her own. Only now did she realize what it really meant. She pulled it up around her shoulders and pushed up the hood, still not meeting Emma's eyes.

"She wanted to protect you, Red. She didn't want you to have to bear the burden of the Wolf. Much less do so alone, before you were ready."

"But I did bear it, Myra. I _do. _For the past two years, I did everything to wiggle my way out of this stupid cloak. I woke up with no memory of what happened and no idea that I was the cause of so much pain. Ignorance is bliss that is true. But once you finally find out the truth and it's too late? That hurts so much worse."

Emma winced. She understood her frustration, her bitterness, her anger. It felt the exact same way when she found out about Neal's plan to take over her kingdom, albeit this was probably a bigger scale of betrayal. Still, she imagined the feelings were mutual. She tentatively put a hand on her shoulder. "I know you do Red, and I can tell you from her own words that Granny regrets not telling you more than anything. But she wants to make it right. That's why she sent you with me."

"Make it right?" Red sputtered. "By doing what? Casting me off as a runaway?" Emma winced slightly at the disgust in her voice, and Red covered her mouth in horror when she realized her mistake. "I'm sorry," she murmured, scuffing her shoes in the snowy ground.

Emma exhaled through her nose but otherwise waved a dismissive hand. "No harm done." She brushed off a light pad of snow, sinking onto a nearby boulder close to the base of the tree and patting the empty space next to her. "Come sit. My legs are exhausted, so I know yours must be too."

Red eyed the stone as though she were convinced Emma was going to pick it up and chuck it at her. "I swear, I didn't mean to call you a runaway. I just meant-"

Emma laughed as her friend fumbled to find the right words. "Red, it's fine. I've already forgotten about it." She smiled softly patting the rock again. "Come on."

Hesitantly, Red lowered down onto the mound. Of course, she knew Emma hadn't really been offended by her comment, but after all that had happened today, she didn't know what to expect next.

Emma grinned and nudged her with her shoulder. "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Red laughed and shook her head. "No, I guess not. And I have to admit, it does feel good to stretch my legs for awhile."

"Hell yeah it does." Emma agreed. She bit her lip, turning to face the other side of the road and contemplated the best way to break this particular piece of information to Red. She knew it would seem like it was coming out of left field, but she felt like Red deserved to know where they were going, and in order to tell her that, she had to know the whole truth. "So, listen," Emma started, threading her fingers through the fabric of her skirt. "I have a confession to make. My name's not really Myra… It… It's Emma."

Red blinked, but otherwise didn't give much of a reaction, mostly because she didn't know what to do with that. "O...Kay?"

Emma took a deep breath when she saw her friend's befuddled expression, deciding it was better just to get everything out in the open now. "I really am a runaway, but not for the reasons you're probably thinking…. My parents… They… They're kind of, well… They're royalty."

A small gasp escaped Red, but she maintained her composure. "So, you're a ... "

"Princess." Emma admitted, her cheeks flaming. "Yes."

The younger brunette pursed her lips. "And you came to Sherwood because…?"

Emma sighed and turned to look Red in the eye. "Being a princess isn't all it's cracked up to be," she droned with a pointed laugh. "My parents…. They wanted to hold this stupid ball. It's my 21st birthday in a week so-"

"Your coronation ball?"

She grimaced. "Yes. Only it _isn't _a coronation ball, just an overstated birthday party. Or, it was supposed to be. My parents agreed a long time ago that I could wait until I was twenty five to take the throne..."

"But?"

"But… I just found out that the only reason they're even throwing the ball is to marry me off to some guy-"

Red cringed at the idea. "Ouch."

Emma nodded. "No kidding. I told them it wasn't fair, especially after what happened last time, but they wouldn't listen. I panicked and ran, so…" She shrugged and offered a small smile. "Here I am."

"I don't blame you," Red sympathized. "It was bad enough that Granny tried to keep me from Peter, but to be forced on someone else?" She shivered. "I don't want to imagine it."

"Oh, trust me, you don't."

Red nodded and gently squeezed Emma's hand. "So… where to now? I mean, neither one of us can go home…"

Emma grinned. At least there was a possibility that something good could come out of all this. "Well, when Granny and I were off looking for you-" Red caught her lip between her teeth twined her hands together.

"I never should have gone off by myself," she whispered.

Emma sighed. "It's okay. I understand why you did."

Red smiled softly. "Still, I feel guilty. You guys could have died!"

"But we didn't," Emma reassured her. "And neither did you. In fact, if your granny's plan works, you might not ever have to worry about the Wolf taking over again. "

Red perked up instantly, her brown eyes shining with disbelief and the smallest glimmer of hope. "Really?" she breathed. Her heart thudded faster in her chest, but she didn't want to get her hopes up.

Emma nodded. "When we were in the woods, Granny told me how to track down the Dark One. He lives just a few kingdoms away, and she thinks he can help change my fate."

"The… Dark One?' Red gasped. "But he's…"

"And reverse your curse," she added pointedly, her gaze never leaving Red's.

"Emma… I… Are you sure? I mean, the Dark One… They say he's the most twisted mage who ever lived. They say if you break a deal with him…" She shuttered. "Are you sure _that's _where Granny wanted us to go?"

"Hey, I don't trust the idea completely either," Emma said. "But it's my best shot, Red. And Granny wouldn't send you to him if she didn't believe he was yours too." _I hope_, she added silently before pushing up off of the rock and offering her hand to the young girl. "So, what do you say? Will you come with me?"

Red stared at Emma's hand, debating whether or not to take it, or go along with her original plan to return home. On the one hand, she knew Emma was right. Granny would be furious if she saw her back in town, and she would _never _agree to let her turn herself in. But, on the other… Was seeking help from the vilest sorcerer in all the land really the best option? Was it really the only choice? What if it didn't work? What if he went back on their deal and she was forced to remain forever in his castle as an indentured servant?

But then, what if it did? Could she really pass up what might be her only chance at a normal life, simply because she was scared? After all, Granny trusted him, or at least, she was desperate enough to take a chance on the _idea _of him. Shouldn't that count for something?

Red closed her eyes, imagining what it would feel like to no longer live in fear, to be herself without the constant worry that everyone she loved would be put in danger by a force she couldn't control. To be able to go where she wanted, do what she pleased. To make a life for herself. A slow smile spread across her face, and when she opened her eyes again, she knew what she had to do. She beamed up at Emma and clasped her hand, swinging her leg up over the mare with a grunt. "Let's go."

* * *

Regina shivered in her sleeveless gown as she wandered through the mostly deserted streets of Avonlea. The street lanterns were on, and a few people were milling about as they stumbled home from late-night jaunts to the tavern, but other than that, most of the shops had closed for the night. She supposed the wee hours of the morning wasn't the best time to go exploring her new town, especially in an ill-fitting gown without a proper coat but she just had to get out of the castle. She wasn't ready to forgive Rumpelstiltskin for all the pain he'd caused her, and she couldn't stand to listen to his bumbling excuses.

She passed the Shoematcher Inn near the center of town square, along with Sweet Buns Bakery, Markowitz Mystique Dress Emporium, Jack Bean's Coffee, the bookseller, and several other shops and restaurants. In the distance, paths forked and merged with dirt roads that led to small clusters of cottages, and many more building she couldn't make out through the now lightly falling snow. She guessed those had to be Avonlea's equivalent to neighborhoods, though she really wouldn't know. Miles and miles of empty acreage had surrounded her old manor just on the outskirts of Sherwood. Cora never allowed her to venture into the village, saying that as a princess, she had a reputation to uphold and couldn't afford to associate with the "common folk."

Regina cringed at the memory, but let out a long exhale as she approached the edge of town where civilization merged with the lush greenery of the Pine Woods. No matter where she went from here, it was a relief to have that life behind her. She wandered around the outskirts awhile longer, trying to delay her imminent return to the castle for as long as humanly possible (After all, where else was she going to go?) but when her teeth begin to chatter and she could no longer feel her fingers or toes, she finally decided it was time to admit defeat. Just as she turned and started the trek back up the mountain, the leaves rustled behind her.

Regina froze and sucked in her breath. For a moment, she was paralyzed. Was it a wolf? A bear? Had her mother somehow tracked her down already? She squeezed her eyes shut, unsure whether to simply take off at a sprint, or wait there until her predator passed so as not to startle it. Suddenly, a familiar, bark like squawk echoed through the frozen night air. Regina's dark eyes snapped open, and she whipped around to face the rustling bushes.

_Arias?_

Sure enough, the mother griffin leapt out from beneath the foliage. Her tail beat so wildly against the freshly packed snow that the tiniest blades of grass had begun to peek through the indent. She pounced on Regina, knocking her flat on her back against the icy, slushy ground, and nuzzling her feathery head into the younger girl's neck as she slathered her cheek with big, sloppy kisses.

"Arias!" Regina laughed, attempting to shove the exuberant animal away before her back froze to the ground. "Let me up, you troublemaker!"

The griffin gave a pitiful whine, but obediently stepped back and let Regina haul herself up. She came in closer and brushed up against the hem of her dress as she brushed herself off and attempted to recover from the shock.

"Arias, you naughty thing," the ebony haired girl scolded once her footing was regained. "What are you doing out here? Were you worried about me?" She reached down to pet the massive creature on the head, but instead it licked her hand and responded with a compassionate squawk. Regina grinned. "Well, don't worry. I'm fine, see?" Regina stood up and let the Arias circle her for injuries just to prove her point.

As she watched, Regina's brows creased further in confusion. How _did_ she get out of the castle? Rumple said she never went anywhere without him…. Slightly alarmed, Regina scanned the town, but saw no sign of the old mage. Still, she pursed her lips and crossed her arms about her chest, eyeing the griffin as if she'd just caught a little child stealing a cookie from the jar before dinner. "Did Rumple send you out after me?" she accused.

The mother nodded her large head, a slight twinkle dancing in her dark eyes. Regina sighed.

"Honestly, can't I just have a few hours to myself?" she muttered. She would never admit it out loud, however, but a part of her was glad Rumple had sent his most trusted companion to fetch her. At least that meant he wasn't too mad about her running off then. Right? Even so, she wasn't sure if she was ready to go back yet. Arias, seeming to sense her inner conflict, tugged on the former princess's full skirt with her beak, pointing her back in the direction of the Dark Castle. Regina rolled her eyes, but slowly began to follow the griffin back up the hill. "Alright, let's get you back home."

She turned around once more, but stopped as another movement caught her eye. A midnight black horse trotted through the clearing, carrying two very weary-looking girls that she guessed to be about her age or a little younger on it's back. One had hazel eyes and dark chestnut hair only a few shades lighter than her own and wore a bright crimson cloak. The other had on a brown hood that covered most of her face, but her eyes danced along the town skyline in the brightest shade of emerald Regina had ever seen. She crept a little closer to try and catch a piece of their hushed conversation. They sounded confused and slightly panicked.

"Are you sure this is the right place, Emma?" the brunette asked, looking around the lifeless town.

The older girl's brows scrunched in confusion as she scanned the sleepy village. "Pretty sure."

The girl in the red cape bit her lip. "It just looks so... deserted."

"That's probably because it's like 4 a.m. Red," the other girl joked.

_Her name is Red? _Regina wondered. That was certainly not a name she'd heard before.

Red laughed and nudged Emma's shoulder. "Good point." They trotted a little closer to town and Red's discouraged look returned as she eyed the vacant streets. "But how are we going to find somewhere to stay if all the shops are closed?"

Emma shrugged and caught her lip between her teeth. "I'm sure we'll find something," she said, trying to sound nonchalant. Regina could tell she was more than a little concerned though, as her green eyes flickered with uncertainty.

_Ah ha, _she thought. _So, they _are _lost! _Regina did a little victory dance in her mind, though she wasn't at all sure why that thought made her so giddy inside. There was just something about the older one... Regina shook that preposterous thought from her head. _Stop it, you loon, _she chided herself. _You don't even know them. _Yet.

Before she could lose her nerve, Regina sauntered up next to the horse, with Arias following closely at her heels. "Excuse me, are you lost?"

Emma's jaw went slightly slack as she glanced down at a beautiful woman with long, brunette tresses flowing flawlessly down her back even in this late night snow and kind, sable eyes that seemed to sense everything Emma was feeling without even knowing her. Her lavender dress distinguished her from crisp white ground, though Emma thought it a little odd to be wearing something so formal in such whether. Her teeth chattered as she waited for their answer and her lips were slightly blue with the chill, but the teasing glint in her eye; as if she had seen more in her short life than she ever hoped to see and had a long but somber tale to tell intrigued Emma. She blinked as she struggled to remember how to make her mouth form words. "Um… yes. I'm… I'm…"

"Emma." Red jumped with a light chuckle. "Her name is Emma."

"Yeah… that." Emma flushed and peaked at the stranger shyly. Regina's cheeks burned as she smiled politely at the pair.

"And I'm Red."

"Nice to meet you, Emma, Red." Regina curtsied and Red choked back a laugh. Emma glared and elbowed her in the ribs.

_Ow, _she mouthed. _What was that for? _

_Be nice, _Emma chastised back. _Maybe she can help us. _

Red rolled her eyes at her friend's lame excuse, but offered the girl a sincere grin.

"I'm Regina. Can I help you somehow?"

"Um, yes," Emma stuttered. "We're just uh… passing through," she explained, not sure whether either of them wished to divulge the real reason for their journey. "But it's getting rather late, and we were hoping to find a place to stay for the night?" Her eyes sparkled as she looked expectantly at Regina. The brunette flushed, twisting a piece of her skirt betwixt her fingers.

"Oh, well, I only just moved here myself, you see, so I'm not sure I could be of much help. I was just out for an um… late night walk."

Emma's posture visibly deflated. "Oh."

"Yes… I'm sorry." She shuffled her feet and studied the ground, unsure where to go from here.

"That's alright," Red assured her, I'm sure we can-"

"Wait!" Regina's head snapped up, her eyes gleaming with pride at the thought that had just occurred to her. "I think I _did _see an inn a little ways back." She gestured to the griffin standing obediently at her side. "We can um… take you there, if you like. Arias might know they way."

In response, the griffin bounced eagerly up and down on her paws, trotting a few feet ahead before making sure they were following. Regina chuckled.

"Yes, I guess she does." She smiled up at the girls, and when Emma beamed back, she didn't have the time to contemplate the hundreds of butterflies that took flight in her stomach. "Ahem… Come on, then." She started up the hill after her winged companion.

"Is that a… griffin?" Red asked incredulously as they trekked slowly up the hill behind Regina. "Where in all of the kingdoms did you ever find one of those?"

Regina stiffened slightly at their mention of her feathered friend, afraid they might somehow link Arias, and therefore her, back to the Dark Castle. Her new living arrangements weren't exactly something she wanted to broadcast to the world, and though she felt she could trust these girls, she really knew nothing about them. She stood up a little straighter and tried her best to look unfazed. "Oh, she's… just an old friend."

Arias nuzzled Regina's leg as if to reinforce her words, and at that moment, the girl could've hugged her. Sometimes she swore the creature understood what she was saying.

Emma raised an eyebrow and exchanged looks with Red. She could spot a liar a mile away, and something told her that animal wasn't merely this girl's pet. Red simply shrugged her shoulders, so Emma let it slide for now. It probably wasn't any of their business anyway.

"Is she friendly?" Red asked, breaking the awkward silence.

Regina relaxed almost instantly and a small smile slipped passed her lips. "Oh, yes, very." She scratched Arias just behind her ears and her tail thumped against the ground, kicking up snow in appreciation. "And very playful, too. " They came to the inn and Regina grinned. "Here we are."

Red slipped off first and tied Mysty to a pole, before gently helping Emma down. Regina frowned when she caught sight of her bandaged ankle.

"What happened?"

Emma blushed furiously and fought the urge to cringe as she put her full weight on that leg for the first time in two days. "Riding accident. Made the… jump too late." She explained as she draped an arm around Red's shoulders and hobbled to the door.

Regina winced. Oooh, that must've hurt."

Emma nodded. "Do you ride?"

"I used too." Regina's eyes sparkled with excitement. "My father taught me when I was a little girl." She looked away dreamily and Emma grinned.

"Me too. How come you don't ride right now?"

Regina stopped short as they stepped over the threshold into the warm Inn. "Well I…"

"Hi! Welcome to the Shoematcher Inn! I'm Elaine. How can I help you folks this fine evening?"

Regina exhaled and her shoulders slumped in relief when the chipper little old woman behind the counter cut off their conversation. She stepped forward and smiled at the receptionist. "Hi, Elaine. I'm Regina, and these are my friends Emma and Red. We're just… passing through, and we were wondering whether you had any rooms to spare so we could wait out the storm tonight?"

Emma and Red raised mutually confused eyebrows when Regina included herself in their "we." If she'd just moved here, surely she must have a home to get back to… Right? Emma opened her mouth to question it, but was interrupted by Elaine before she could.

"Hmm," the little old lady peered over the rim of her glasses as the creases around her mouth showed more prominently with her frown. "It seems we only have one room left. It'll be a little crowded, but it does have three beds."

Regina turned to the others, silently asking whether it was okay if she stayed with them.

In spite of her reservations about Regina Emma didn't sense that she would be any kind of threat to them, and judging by her ill-equipped wardrobe, it seemed, for one reason or another, that she needed a place to stay just as bad as they did. She offered the brunette a small smile and held out some coins she's pulled from a small satchel in her servant's dress.

Regina grinned back and took the coins gratefully, a jolt of electricity shooting up her arm as her fingers brushed the palm of Emma's hand. She spun around quickly, trying to hide her blush as heat rose to her cheeks. "We'll take it."

"Great." The elderly woman smiled as she plinked the coins in the register and exchanged it for a keyring jingling with three perfectly polished brass keys. "Welcome to Avonlea."


End file.
